Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor's Daughter
by Sorcerer's Muse
Summary: Year three of my Slytherin Harry. Read my stories Muggle's Daughter, Philosopher's Stone and Chamber of Secrets first or you won't know what's going on. Rated Mature for language and later content.
1. Chapter 1

Author's notes:

Standard disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR. Except where I might use some song lyrics which I will call out at the time and give proper credit. Thank you JKR for letting us play with your toys.

I will continue to use the occasional song lyric in the story and will give credit at the time when needed.

This is the fourth book in my Slytherin Harry series.

Book 1: Harry Potter and the Muggle's Daughter

Book 2: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Book 3: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Book 4: Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor's Daughter.

If you haven't read books 1-3 you won't know what's going on. But the bonus is you've got three completed books before you even get to this one!

And last, the disappointing bits.

First, because the site gives me such difficulty uploading, I've adjusted my writing to make things easier and made chapters generally shorter than in the past I try to keep things at about 5000 words because it just works best.

Second, to ensure I keep the production of new material ahead of the pace of my posting I'm afraid I have to go to every other week. I'm sorry, but I'm doing the best I can.

* * *

 **HARRY POTTER AND THE BLOOD TRAITOR'S DAUGHTER**

 **CHAPTER I**

 **The Best of intentions**

* * *

Albus Dumbledore stood in his pensive within the memory he had taken from the mind of Neville Longbottom. As it wasn't _his_ actual memory, but the memory he hadformed when he'd invaded Neville's mind, it was quite fragmented. He had spent a significant amount of time studying what had occurred and was very concerned about a great many things.

He was and he wasn't surprised at the actions Minerva had taken. She had been the member of staff most opposed to the hiding of the Philosopher's Stone within the school. She took quite seriously her position and duties and he should have foreseen how affected she would have been by the dressing down Amelia had given them for the incident. He hadn't really realized that she had stopped confiding in him over the following year and if he were analyzing the current situation correctly her actions were going to lead to her being taken into Harry's inner circle. He would have to work to repair his relationship with her so that he might be able to take advantage of the development.

Of course he knew Harry had an inner circle by now. Severus had performed his duties well. He'd attempted to perform Legilimency on Harry, Hermione, Ginevra and Luna many times over the last two years. It had become plainly evident Harry and Hermione had been extensively trained in the Mind Magics. They both feigned being sick or sudden headaches at the slightest signs of intrusion. Ginevra and Luna avoided eye contact at all costs. Severus had been able to confirm little from them other than they had some basic Occlumency skills that seemed to increase as time went along. It all pointed to Sirius and Harry having a closer relationship with Hermione than he'd initially been led to believe. Harry and Hermione were well trained and had taken it upon themselves to train Ginevra and Luna. He wasn't quite certain why they hadn't done the same with Neville. The boy's defenses were essentially nonexistent.

But exactly who were Harry's inner circle? Sirius, obviously. Remus had confirmed a relationship with Andromeda Tonks, her husband and daughter. Remus believed the relationship was close and that Andromeda, at the very least, was training Harry and Hermione in the Mind Magics. He should have figured that long ago. She was Severus' equal in the arts and made much more sense as a teacher than did Sirius. Unfortunately Remus hadn't been able to provide much more information than that. He knew there was an inner circle but wasn't considered part of it.

But now, thanks to this memory, there was something far more concerning. Just before Neville had stabbed the diary down on the basilisk fang – a stroke of genius to be certain – Tom Riddle had threatened to kill Harry's mother. That made no sense at all. Lily was dead. He had seen her body with his own eyes. He had watched as the funeral pyre had consumed the bodies of her and James. But Tom had believed she was alive and said the information had come from Ginevra's mind. Was it possible? Had Lily somehow faked her death? If Lily were alive things were far more out of control than he feared. But how? How could she possibly be alive? She had been struck by the Killing Curse. What had saved her? He thought he understood why Harry had survived. Lily had sacrificed herself for him, refusing to stand aside when offered the chance. That had set the Old Magic in motion. But if she hadn't actually been killed, then the Old Magic wouldn't have been in place and Harry should have died.

The only possible explanation he could think that would have both Harry and Lily surviving was James having been offered the chance to live if he would stand aside. But he already knew that wasn't the case. He'd invaded Peter Pettigrew's mind many times since the man had been incarcerated. He had seen the altercation between James and Tom and he knew James had not been given the chance Lily was. So how? If she were truly alive, how? He knew she was brilliant. She had created the Wolfsbane Potion while still in school. Had she created something else that allowed her to save herself and Harry? She was a genius at Charms and one did not find themselves recruited to the ranks of the Unspeakables for nothing; especially when the one in question was a Muggle-born witch. She was far and away the most capable student to have come through Hogwarts since Tom Riddle and had only been matched since by Hermione Granger.

Albus frowned. If he allowed himself to believe Lily were alive, what did it mean? What possible consequences did it create with regards to the prophecy and Harry's role as the one to bring Voldemort down? Was it possible the whole thing was invalidated…? No, he dismissed the idea. Twice in two years Harry and Tom had come face to face. There was little doubt their magic was diametrically opposed. The two would be continually drawn together till they were both dead. He wished that weren't the case, but there was simply no way for it to not be.

A Horcrux could not be destroyed without the destruction of its host. It was really that simple. He had tried to mitigate the damage to the rest of the world by removing Harry's will to live. He had tried to ensure Harry would have no faith in himself, his abilities or worth so that when Tom came for him he would easily be killed. The power Harry had over Tom would be his willingness to die and allow the bit of Tom's soul he carried to die with him. With Harry's death all that would remain was to find the Horcruxes and then confront Tom in a final battle. But that was well and truly gone now. Harry was only too willing to fight and Albus was certain the battle would see far more come to harm than had things been the way he would have liked. He had tried to circumvent the prophecy and failed…

Which meant there was nothing to do but see the rest came to fruition. The last two years were proof enough that in his current form Tom Riddle was not strong enough to see Harry Potter killed. He would need to return from his current state to that of the living. The question was, how?

Perhaps the answer lay in Peter. It would even serve to blunt Amelia. She was getting far too powerful in her position. Yes, that would work well.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Harry was sitting on his bed quietly picking at his guitar when his mum came in and sat down on the foot of the bed.

"What are you playing?"

Harry shrugged and kept playing. Mum sat and listened. The song was fairly long but, as always, the end eventually came. He sat for a second as the last echo faded away. "Did you know?" he asked.

"Did I know what, Harry?"

"Tom Riddle. Did you know he was Voldemort?" Mum stared back at him. "I found that diary." Mum blinked a number of times. "Ginny didn't know what it was, but she figured out there was something wrong with it. She tried to get rid of it and threw it in the fire. I found it the next morning. It was from 1943. Hermione and I had already found the stuff about the Chamber being opened back then. And I knew I'd seen the name Riddle before. But I forgot about it and just stuck it in my bag. Probably it was messing with my head. When Ginny had the fit in Defense, it was because she saw it in the pile on my desk…" Mum just stared at him. "Don't you think it might have been a good idea for me to know what his real name was?"

"Harry, I swear, I never meant to hide that from you. I don't know why, but it just never occurred to me to tell you."

Harry studied her for a few seconds. "I want to know what the prophecy says."

She swallowed painfully. "Harry, please—"

"You knew about Horcruxes, didn't you?" he cut her off.

"I suspected, yes."

"Hermione and I have spent a lot of time studying old prophecies and the sorcerers they related to, Mum. After the last two years, you can't think it's going to just go away. I'm not blaming you, but if I had known Tom Riddle was Voldemort, or about Horcruxes, Ginny wouldn't have been taken into the Chamber, I wouldn't have been bitten by a basilisk, Bill wouldn't have been hurt and Sandra wouldn't be dead."

Mum closed her eyes tightly, shaking her head back and forth. "Harry—"

"Is he gone for good this time?" Harry cut her off again.

Mum sagged, and whispered, "I don't think so."

"He made more of those things?"

"My guess is three… or seven."

"The most magically significant numbers," Harry said.

"Yes."

"I'm supposed to be the one who stops him, aren't I?"

"Yes," she said in defeat.

Harry frowned. "Is it a problem then that Neville is the one who destroyed the Horcrux?"

"I don't know."

"So it could be bad that he destroyed it instead of me?"

"I don't know."

"But it would be better if it had been me?"

"Probably, yes. It's possible it doesn't matter, but it might."

"Then I think my point is proved."

A tear slid down Mum's cheek. "I only ever wanted to you to be a child, Baby; just like everyone else."

"But I'm not, Mum. I'm a child of prophecy; whether it's true or not. By definition that makes me different."

"That doesn't mean you're a weapon, Harry," she said vehemently. "I've seen this world. Magical people are the worst ostriches. They think if they stick their head in the sand deep enough the problems of the world will just go away. The moment someone knows you're fated to fight Voldemort, they'll be clamoring for a duel to settle things between you. Everything I've done is to prevent that. I've got a plan, Harry. I just need you to trust that."

"I do trust you, Mum. But he's got a plan too and he's older and stronger and better than me. He might be better than you, because whatever plan you have, he's messing it up. I've fought him twice already. What happens if I can't win now because Neville destroyed the Horcrux instead of me…? I need to know, Mum."

Mum bowed her head. "Alright."

"Now?"

"Not tonight. I need to make arrangements."

"You need to make arrangements to tell me?"

"Trust me, Harry."

"When?"

"One week. Maybe two." She held her hand up when he went to protest. "Trust me, Harry. I'm not trying to distract you, I promise."

Harry held her gaze for another moment before starting to play again. "Bob Dylan, Masters of War," he said quietly. Mum closed her eyes and turned away.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

"Professor," Sirius greeted her when she knocked on his door. "Please do come in," he said graciously. Minerva stepped in and he quickly shut the door. The weather was atrocious and, frankly, if not for the fact she had been waiting for this meeting for almost a month, she would have stayed in. "I'm glad you made it." She shrugged out of her cloak and he took it from her, hanging it on the coat tree.

"Thank you, Lord Black," she said.

"Sirius, please, Professor, or if you prefer, Mr Black. I never wanted to be Lord Black and don't think I can function properly unless you're the one with the superior title and position."

Minerva regarded him for a few moments. "Grow up, Lord Black, it is high time you accepted the responsibilities of your station and acted accordingly."

Sirius laughed. "Perfect." He motioned her into the living room of his small cottage. "Please sit down. I have tea all set out." They moved into the room with her choosing a comfortable, but straight and high wing-backed chair over his spot on the small couch.

Sirius tapped the kettle with his wand and it began to warm. Minerva took in the room. By necessity it was rather small. The cottage wasn't large from the outside and didn't appear to carry a larger capacity on the inside than the frame suggested. The room she was in was painted in a cool blue with many pictures hung on the walls and set on the mantle of the fireplace. The chair she was sat in was the only one of its type and she rather figured it was transfigured for her. A large window allowed for a view beyond the garden to the sea below the high cliff the cottage was perched on. It did not seem the kind of place she would have expected Sirius Black to live. More to the point it didn't seem Harry lived here either. Being an animagus, she was quite certain of his scent and it barely registered. The house smelt of Sirius, any number of women, Remus Lupin… and William. Magic being what it was, the water was heated in moments and by the time her initial impressions were complete, Sirius was pouring for them.

She took her cup. "Thank you."

Sirius raised his. "Thank you, Professor; what you did, I have no words other than those."

She set her cup down. "We are to get right to it then?"

Sirius set his cup down as well. "That depends, Remus?"

Minerva frowned. "Remus?" Surely he wasn't here. Yes, his scent was strong in the house, but not that strong." She heard a rustling noise from behind and turned as Remus appeared from under an invisibility cloak.

"Hello, Professor," he said quietly.

"Three at least," another voice said. She turned and William materialized from behind a Disillusionment Charm. "Don't mind me, Auntie," he said. Moving to her, he ran his wand around her shoulders.

"What is the meaning of this?" she demanded, trying to stand.

Remus placed a hand on her shoulder and gently but firmly held her in place. "It's just a diagnostic spell."

"You've had three tracking charms placed on you, Professor," Sirius said. "Question is, are you aware of them?"

She stared at him. "Tracking Charms?"

Sirius picked up his tea and sipped at it. "Albus just can't seem to keep his manipulative fingers out of things that don't concern him." He sipped his tea again.

"What does Albus have to do with it?"

"Pretty much everything," Sirius answered. He set his tea down. "There's been a debate going around about you for some time now, Professor. Some of us thought you should be brought in. You'd earned Harry's trust, see. Hell, you earned Kaa's trust. And let me tell you, neither is, or was, an easy thing to do. But others of us were concerned you were too close to Albus. Still others thought that would be to our advantage." He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. "But to make a long story short, going down in that Chamber with Harry, well, it proved you were willing to do what was right and damn the consequences."

"What exactly are you getting at?" Minerva demanded.

"Albus set three tracking charms on you—"

"Four," Bill interrupted.

"Four," Sirius corrected.

Minerva continued to stare at him before glancing at Remus and William in turn. William was still casting diagnostic spells on her. " _What,_ is going on?"

"Bill?" Sirius asked.

"Three on her clothes and one on her person. That one will lose integrity with another few hops. There are clean clothes in the toilet, Auntie. If you would kindly change, we can take you to the real meeting." Bill blushed. "And I do mean all your clothes."

Sirius' eyes widened. "Didn't need to hear that."

Fifteen minutes and four apparation stops later Minerva was stood in front of the Briar Patch and had just watched the barn and separate out buildings shimmer into existence after Remus had reveled the secret he kept. She remained silent as the three men led her into the house. "This way please, Auntie," Bill said and directed her to the sitting room. She stopped in the entry.

A brown haired woman stood to great her. "Hello, Professor," she said quietly.

Minerva stared at the woman in disbelief. She had suspected this for weeks now, but confirmation was something else entirely. "I think I need to sit down."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

 _Your fault, Ginevra,_ her/Tom's voice mocked. Beside her Harry struggled to keep moving. His face was bright red with exertion. She dared not look at him. She didn't think she could stand the sight of the vein in his neck pulsing violently again. It had been over a year since she had trained with Harry and Hermione. Her memories were of a boy who ran like the wind itself. For heaven's sake he had spent hours outrunning a bloody damn dragon! They'd barely covered a half-mile and he looked like he was going to keel over and die. _Look at him, Ginevra._ Ginny ignored the voice. _I've seen invalids move faster than he is,_ her/Tom's voice taunted. Ginny closed her eyes and grit her teeth. She _would_ _not_ respond. _Little Ginevra, wrote in a diary and what did she get…?_ Ginny clenched her fists so tightly her fingers turned white. _She killed her brother's fiancée, that's what!_

 _Shut up,_ Ginny growled.

 _Oh, look at that, he's throwing up!_ Ginny stopped and stared at the sick as Harry wiped at his mouth. _You did this to him. Bet he wishes he'd let you die now._

"Ginny… Ginny… Ginny!" Ginny's eyes snapped up. "It's not you're fault," Harry said. She swallowed before looking away. The look on Hermione's face said different.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Ginny's eyes snapped open. Like each of the two previous nights she was not in the Chamber, or her room at school, or trapped in Tom's dreamscape while he tormented her. She was in her room – it was really just a curtained off area in the living room of Bill and Charlie's flat.

She was safe.

For a few seconds she simply lay in her bed while she got her bearings back. After a bit, she climbed from her bed and made her way to the toilet. She paused in the hallway. The door to Bill's room was cracked open and a dim, flickering, from a single candle, sat on the bedside table, illuminated her brother. He was sat in a chair, his elbows on his knees as he stared at the picture in his hands.

 _Murderer,_ her/Tom's voice cackled gleefully.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Amelia entered the parlour and took a seat next to Bill. "Sorry for the delay," she said.

"I'm sure you are not lacking for good reasons, Amelia," Lily said. "It's not like the rest of us are trying to run a government or anything."

She smirked. "Just the important bits." She accepted a glass from Remus. "Thank you, Remus."

"You're welcome, Amelia." She glanced around. With the addition of Minerva, they were nine strong tonight, with only Malala and Charlie missing. "Well, Lily, this is generally your show, so why don't you get us started."

Lily took a breath. She was not happy to be doing this but she had made a promise to Harry and she would honor that promise. "My topic for tonight is slightly different than you might have expected. I think I mostly wish to hear your thoughts."

The others shared a look before focusing on her again. "Go on," Amelia said.

"The night Harry got back from school, he asked to hear the contents of the prophecy."

"You wish to hear our thoughts on this?"

"Yes."

"I think you know my thoughts," David said. "I'm for withholding anything we can for as long as we can."

Amelia pursed her lips. "On the one hand I agree with you, David. I'm actually certain we all do. On the other, given the events of the last few years I think it may well be time. I think me may need to reconsider our policy regarding them entirely."

"What do you mean?" David asked.

She focused on him. "Please understand I do not make light of your concerns. However I feel someone must play the role of Devil's advocate and remind everyone, all of us but Minerva were aware Voldemort's – she ignored Minerva's cringe – given name was Tom Riddle. Because we _all_ made the decision to shield them for as long as possible, we withheld a bit of truly innocuous information that would have prevented the events of this past spring. Our very attempt to shield them is the very thing that nearly saw them all killed. You know I do not hold this against you, David, but you are not magical. This makes it much harder for you than the rest of us. But Magic is a force; even, I dare say, a life, unto itself. And It is moving. Despite our best efforts, Harry and his friends have come face to face with Voldemort each of the last two years. These confrontations will only become more frequent and more violent till such time as one or both of them are dead. I do not like this any more than any of you, but I have learned my lesson. It is my opinion that the best way to protect them is for them to know everything that we know."

"You cannot mean to involve them in everything, Amelia," Minerva protested. "They're children."

Amelia focused on her. "This from the woman who _followed,_ not led, _followed_ Harry into the Chamber." She held her hand up to forestall protest. "Make no mistake I, no, _we,_ are all grateful to you for doing so. But even when in place to make them stand aside you followed. As I said, Magic is a force unto itself and you instinctively knew it was Harry who needed to lead that fight."

Minerva pressed her lips into a thin line but found she couldn't argue the point. She had been swept along in Harry's wake like detritus following a tsunami. There were a hundred points at which she could have taken the lead or sent Harry and Neville back. Certainly she had needed Harry to open the final doorway to the Chamber, but surely it would have been wise to go for more help once it was proven Harry had indeed found the entrance to the Chamber. She hadn't. Even in supporting Harry she had failed him.

"I realize I'm barely out of school myself," Tonks ventured, "but I agree with Director Bones. "Every one of those kids is suffering because we failed them. They're recovering. But Ginny, especially, is going to have to deal with this the rest of her life. Maybe it's because I'm the youngest one here and have really only known everything going on for the last six months but I've thought about this a lot since things happened.

All we had to do was tell them the son-of-a-bitch's real name and suddenly it's all gone. There is no possession. There is no basilisk loose in the school. There are no petrified students. Harry is never bitten. The Horcrux is in our hands last fall. And, I'm sorry, Bill, but Sandra is still alive. I realize it may not have been that clean, but surely it would have been better than this."

"I agree as well," Andromeda said. "I realize I am one of many who would make claims on them, but Harry _is_ my son. Hermione, Ginny, Luna, they _are_ my daughters. And we should not make the mistake of ignoring the events of the last two years. As Amelia says, Magic _is_ moving. No less a being than the goddess, Nimue, sent them to protect the stone. I cannot help but think that we should follow her example. We are to help and guide where we can. But we must accept this fight will find its way to Harry and by extension the others. Harry is a very brave boy. But he is not foolish. He is aware of his limitations. When he had the information, he made good decisions. He went for help. Even when he knew it was Ginny who had been taken he expected it would be others who went to help her. It was only when he realized no one was even going to try that he decided he would go after her. They are young. I hate this with every fiber of my being, but I feel he has proven he can be trusted. We best protect him and the others by informing them. I wish it were different, but it is time we accepted the truth that is happening before our eyes."

A short silence fell on the group as they all considered things. "I'm assuming you're all in agreement on this?" David asked.

Remus spoke up. "I'm sorry, Dave. You know I would do anything to protect Hermione. But I have to agree, at this point, I see only two ways to do so. You can inform her, or remove her from the situation. And by remove I mean take her as far from here as is possible and still remain on the planet. I might even go so far as to suggest you obliviate her."

"It won't work," Bill said. He focused on his friend. "Believe me, Dave, I'm tempted. But Magic _is_ a life of its own. Those four, in one way or another, will be entwined with each other their whole lives. They may not always even get along. This year is proof of that. But I firmly believe fighting the connections they've made is as pointless as fighting the tides. Hermione would be fine for a while, but I would give it two years, max, before she would begin breaking the memory charms. And once she did… well, I'm sure you can imagine how she'd react."

David frowned. "I don't believe in running from a fight," he said. "I just have a problem with it being kids doing the fighting."

"I'm fed up with old men dreaming up ways for young men to die," Tonks said quietly. Everyone turned to her. "George McGovern."

"I know," David said. "I'm just surprised you do."

"Perhaps it is because you have all had much more time to become accustomed to these matters," Minerva said, "but surely we can at least agree to… filter what they are told?"

"I don't disagree with the idea that we meet without them so we can decide _how_ they are to be told," Amelia said.

"Nor do I," Andromeda said. Glances and nods were given all around.

"We're agreed then," Lily said. "Bill will take Harry to retrieve the prophecy and he and the others will be told of its contents."

"Agreed," David said. "God, or maybe the Goddess, forgive me," he added quietly.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's notes:

Standard disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR. Except where I might use some song lyrics which I will call out at the time and give proper credit. Thank you JKR for letting us play with your toys.

I will continue to use the occasional song lyric in the story and will give credit at the time when needed.

This is the fourth book in my Slytherin Harry series.

Book 1: Harry Potter and the Muggle's Daughter

Book 2: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Book 3: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Book 4: Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor's Daughter.

If you haven't read books 1-3 you won't know what's going on. But the bonus is you've got three completed books before you even get to this one!

And last, the disappointing bits.

First, because the site gives me such difficulty uploading, I've adjusted my writing to make things easier and made chapters generally shorter than in the past I try to keep things at about 5000 words because it just works best.

Second, to ensure I keep the production of new material ahead of the pace of my posting I'm afraid I have to go to every other week. I'm sorry, but I'm doing the best I can.

* * *

 **HARRY POTTER AND THE BLOOD TRAITOR'S DAUGHTER**

 **CHAPTER II**

 **A Fine Line**

* * *

Harry took a second to catch his balance and keep from vomiting. He really hated magical travel. Especially being side-along apparated. "Good?" Bill hissed.

"Fine," Harry agreed.

"Stick close." Bill hurried across his office and pulled the door open. One of the perks of being an unspeakable was the ability to apparate directly into his office. Of course the wards would record his coming and going. Harry had been transfigured into a stuffed panda to avoid being detected. It hadn't made the ride any better. Truthfully, it may have been worse. Being transfigured into an inanimate object, played havoc with your insides. But he was now successfully inside the ministry without being detected and that was the whole point of this little endeavor.

With Harry doing his best to walk practically in Bill's footsteps he followed the older wizard down a series of narrow corridors. He was a bit surprised that they passed no one. But then Harry knew Bill had worked hard to determine when the fewest of his fellow unspeakables would be about and then set his schedule such that it would be usual for him to be at work during that time. After about five minutes, Bill stopped in front of a plain black door. Without a word he pushed it open. Harry followed him over the threshold.

They had entered a large, circular room. Everything in it was black. The walls, the floors, the ceiling were all glistening black marble. Identical, unmarked, handle-less black doors were set at intervals all around the black walls. Sconces between each door held black candles that burned with blue flames. The candles were scarily alike, appearing to be exactly the same height with exactly the same flame and not a one having burnt differently than the others. The cool, shimmering light they cast reflected on the shining floor making it seem as if they were walking on dark and deep water instead of stone. It was seriously creepy. The door they had entered swung shut, cutting off the bright shaft of light from the corridor. For a moment the only thing Harry could see were the shivering blue flames.

Just as his eyes were beginning to adjust there was a deep rumbling noise and the candles began to move sideways. Harry was very glad he'd been warned of the rotating wall. For a few seconds the blue flames blurred to resemble neon lines of light that wrapped completely around the room. Harry knew it was just candles, but it was seriously creepy; far scarier than any fun house he'd ever been in; probably for that very reason. This wasn't a fun house. There were very dangerous, very scary, very _real,_ things down here and he was quite glad to have Bill with him and in charge. Truthfully, Harry was quite impressed with Ginny's brother. There was something about him that just made him willing to follow the older wizard's lead. Just as suddenly as it started, the rumbling diminished and the walls slowed to a stop. But now Harry had blue streaks burned into his eyes. And the silence seemed all the more deafening.

Without a word, Bill picked the door immediately to the left of the door directly across from them and pushed it open. Harry hadn't a clue as to how he knew where to go. He couldn't have even picked out the door they'd entered. The new room was the day to the night of the spinning black walls of the room they left behind. Harry blinked the spots from his vision as his pupils adjusted to the sudden change. They were in the Time Room.

Be it the walls, shelves, desks, or floor, shining clock-faces gleamed from every surface; desk clocks, wall clocks, cuckoo clocks, grandfather clocks, thousands upon thousands of them. The room was filled with a relentless ticking of their mechanisms. Bill led him down the narrow space between a row of desks and Harry's eyes were drawn to the source of the room's dazzling, diamond-bright light, a towering crystal bell jar that was quite as tall as he was that stood on a desk. Though there was no hint of wind in the room, there appeared to be a billowing, glittering wind within the jar itself!

Drifting along the current was a tiny, jewel-bright egg. It rose within the jar, cracked open and a hummingbird emerged. The little bird was carried to the very top of the jar before it fell on the current. As it did, its feathers became bedraggled and damp and by the time it reached the bottom of the jar it had become encased within the egg again. Harry watched the cycle repeat twice more before he realized Bill had disappeared through the only door and it was slowly swinging closed. He quickly hurried after the older wizard. It would be very bad indeed to lose him. The plans that would be ruined by getting caught could never be set to rights again. And that spoke nothing for the fact that Bill would likely end up in Azkaban. Never mind himself, Harry was certain Ginny would never recover.

Harry left the Time Room for a room high as the York Cathedral. And just as large. It was filled with nothing but towering shelves covered in small, dusty glass orbs roughly the size of a golf ball. They glimmered dully in the light issuing from more candles set in brackets at intervals along the shelves. While the flames were the same colour blue as the candles in the circular room these candles were white instead of black. Beneath some of them giant wax stalagmites had formed. Harry shivered. He'd have thought that many candles would give off a bit of warmth. But it was so frigid in the room he could see his breath. He hurried to catch up with Bill.

They walked on and Harry mentally counted up the rows of shelves. He knew the prophecy was supposed to be in the ninety-seventh aisle. Bill moved with purpose, like he knew exactly where he was going and said not a word to the witch or wizard they passed going the opposite direction. Like Bill, he or she had the hood of their cloak up. Harry had been told the cloaks were specifically designed to make each of the unspeakables appear to be exactly the same physically. Harry understood the desire for secrecy, but he wondered just how the unspeakables were to know if someone who didn't belong had entered the Department of Mysteries if everyone they ever saw within the department looked exactly the same. Regardless, he held his breath as the other sorcerer went past, certain the thudding of his heart would give him away. Ahead, Bill turned down the proper aisle and Harry rushed to catch him. They were taking a huge risk in obtaining something that, by rights, was his to take. But even Madam Bones had agreed it was worth the risk if they could get the prophecy out and replace it with a fake. Even Bill, who was risking his magic and Azkaban, had thought it worth the risk.

Harry turned into the aisle to find Bill about ten feet down, staring at the shelf. Harry didn't say a word as he stepped next to him, deliberately bumping the older wizard as he did. Bill pointed. There, about a foot above Harry's head was a tiny little yellow tag on the front of the shelf.

S. P. T. to A. P. W. B. D.

Dark Lord

And (?) **Harry James Potter** /Neville Longbottom

Harry's blood ran cold. He'd known of the prophecy since before his tenth birthday. He'd wondered at what it said. He and Hermione had pondered it countless times. They had spent hours researching old prophecies in the Hogwarts library. They had guessed that it said something about him defeating Voldemort. He'd confronted his mum regarding it just six days ago. She had confirmed that guess. Even so, he wasn't sure he'd believed it. But here was proof. This was why his father was dead, why is mother had spent years in a coma and why he had been sent to live with his bitch aunt and her bastard husband.

Rage filled him. Who the fuck was Sybil Trelawney or the Dark Lord or the Fates or Gods and Goddesses or anyone else to do this to him or his mother or his father or anyone else…! And, no matter what his mum said, he was going to kill bloody damn Snape…! And why him instead of Neville? Bill, jostling him, tore him from his thoughts. Harry looked at him sharply. Bill jerked his head urgently. Harry turned back to the orb. A quick glance confirmed no one else was about. He slipped his hand out from under his invisibility cloak and plucked the orb from the shelf. He quickly tucked it in his pocket before setting the fake in place. Without a word Bill set off back to the main aisle. But before they reached the exit, he unexpectedly turned down another aisle. Fifty-two to be exact. Harry hesitated for a second but quickly followed. Bill moved about half way down the aisle where he stopped and pointed. Harry read the tag

S. A. W.

Arithmancy Projection

(?) Dark Lord

(?) Ginevra Molly Weasley

(?) **Harry James Potter** /Neville Longbottom

Harry looked sharply at Bill again. Again Bill jerked his head urgently at the orb. Harry quickly reached out and took it. Just as quickly Bill replaced it with a fake. Only unlike the orb Harry had taken, which swirled with a liquid-like light, Bill's orb was as dull and dark as a blown light bulb. Bill then peeled away the label and replaced it with a new one.

S. A. W.

Arithmancy Projection

1991 Chudley Canons

Without another word Bill set off. His mind racing, Harry followed. What the hell was going on? There was a second prophecy regarding himself and Voldemort and this one also mentioned Ginny? And who the hell was S. A. W.?

Before he knew it they were back in Bill's office. Harry yanked the cloak off. "What the hell is going on?" he hissed.

"Not now," Bill snapped back. "Give me the orbs."

"I want to know what's going on."

"And I don't want to spend the rest of my life in Azkaban! Now give me the damn orbs."

"Fine," Harry retorted. "But you better tell me what's going on." He handed them over and braced himself as Bill pointed his wand at him.

" _Obliviate!"_ Bill said harshly. Expecting to be transfigured, Harry was caught completely off guard, without even a thought to duck, dodge or defend himself in any way. "Sorry, kid," Bill said quietly. "But it isn't fair."

Harry blinked dazedly back at Bill for a few seconds before coming back to himself. "So are we getting out of here or what?" he asked. Bill waved his wand and transfigured Harry into a stuffed panda again. He picked Harry up and with a sharp crack the office was empty.

One with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches.

A Champion born as the seventh month dies.

Born unto those who have thrice defied him.

And the Dark Lord shall mark him as equal.

But he shall have Power the Dark Lord knows not.

And either must die at the hand of the other.

For neither can live while the other survives.

One with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord Approaches.

The ghostly apparition swirled away and was sucked back into the glass orb where it seemed to slosh about like smoky water. Hermione stared at the orb from her seat on the couch beside Harry. Blood rushed in her ears like a hurricane. That was it; all the misery of his life before Lily had woken and come for him for that? It didn't even tell them how Harry was supposed to defeat Voldemort!

Sure, she knew Lily had a plan. Destroy the Horcruxes, then go after Voldemort. Somewhere in the back of her mind she recognized it was that simple. It was the whole point of all the instruction she and Harry, and to an extent Ginny and Luna, had received outside of their Hogwarts educations. But as advanced and powerful, as much potential to be great, as ran in the blood of Harry's veins, Voldemort was over fifty years older than he was. How could he possibly be expected to fight someone with that much more knowledge than himself?

Maybe if he made it to thirty he could overcome the disadvantage, but somehow she didn't think Voldemort was going to give him that time. For the love of the Goddess he'd had to fight the bastard's shade each of the last two years and earned over five weeks in hospital for his efforts. There was no way Harry could possibly stand up to the bastard if he brought an actual body to the fight. She'd thought hearing the prophecy would give them an advantage; that there would be a _magic bullet_ hidden in the words.

She should have known better. She and Harry had reviewed hundreds of old prophecies. Not one of them had contained that proverbial magic bullet. No, just like all those old prophecies, all this had done was point Harry and Voldemort at each other and pull the trigger. Just like all those previous Children of Prophecy, Harry would be forced into a fight he never asked for. It was that or just lay down and die, because Voldemort would never stop coming after him; not till one or both of them were dead.

The stupidity of it was maddening. How many times, in the past, had the one that had purportedly been given the power to defeat the evil idiot come up short? How many times had the evil overlord ruled with seeming impunity only to see someone else rise from the ashes of the oppressed masses to eventually strike down the supposedly invincible bastard?

"It says," she observed, "One with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. Not that Harry's the _only_ one who can defeat him." Everyone, Harry, Lily, Remus, Sirius, Mrs Tonks, Ted, Madam Bones, her mum and dad, Bill, Charlie, Tonks and Ginny – Luna was absent only because she was off with her father – all focused on her. "Surely you see that, Lily," Hermione pressed her second mum. "All this does is provide an excuse for everyone else to do nothing."

Mum gave a small nod of her head. "Very good, Hermione," she agreed. "Which is why we've taken the step of removing the real prophecy and replacing it with a fake. This way people won't be clamoring for a duel between them to settle things."

"But then why are you treating it like only Harry can defeat him?" Harry stared at his friend, never more grateful for her than he was at this moment. His mind simply wasn't functioning well enough right now to ask the right questions.

"Remember the _whole_ prophecy," Lily answered. "It also says, And either _must_ die at the hand of the other. And that is after the line, And the Dark Lord shall mark him as equal."

Hermione frowned. "Alright," she agreed. "It's all very vague. But assuming you're correct, is it a problem that Neville destroyed the diary?"

Eleven brows quirked. Ginny blanched. Harry smirked. He'd used that very question as part of his argument for why he needed to know exactly what the prophecy said. Mum shook her head with fond exasperation. "I don't know why I'm surprised."

"Do we need to be concerned?" Madam Bones asked.

Mum took a deep breath and blew it out. "Honestly, I don't believe so. I've been asking that very question ever since we settled on the idea of the Horcrux as Riddle's means to immortality; more so since the Chamber. I think just the fact that Neville was able to destroy the Horcrux indicates that it didn't have to be Harry. I think it may be that Harry simply needs to be the one to deal with what amounts to the primary soul fragment."

"Primary soul fragment?" Charlie asked.

"The fragment of Voldemort's soul that currently exists in wraith form and will inhabit a new body if he's able to make one." Mum shrugged. "Either way, there's little that can be done about it now. Though to be safe, it should be Harry who destroys any remaining Horcruxes."

The mirror in the liquor cabinet exploded, sending people diving for cover.

"What the hell!" Sirius demanded.

Harry cautiously picked his head up. The only person not on the floor was Ginny. She gave him a murderous glare and ran from the room. "Ginny!" he cried racing after her. Charlie was only a step behind.

Bill was faster though and blocked his brother off. "Leave her," he said.

"But…"

"Trust me, Bro. I know what's wrong with her."

"Well enlighten me then," Charlie demanded.

"She's angry with Harry because he's the one who _gets_ to kill Voldemort," Andromeda said.

"Very true," Remus agreed.

"But then shouldn't someone other than Harry go after her?" Hermione asked.

"He's the only one who can fix it," Bill said.

Harry entered the small clearing in the wood and sat down beside Ginny. "Why did you do it?" she asked.

"You wouldn't have for me?"

"No, not before Bill took me to the aviary."

Harry stared off into the distance for a time. "I think you would have."

"You're wrong," she said defiantly. "I hated you then… I hate you now."

Harry flinched. "Because you want to be the one to kill him and I get to?"

"Wouldn't you be angry?"

Harry shrugged. "Probably." They sat in silence for quite some time before Harry spoke. "Voldemort murdered my dad. He walked into the parlour of my parents' house and struck him down with the Killing Curse. He didn't even want to kill him. He didn't want to kill my mum either. He wanted them to join him. Thrice defied. My mum is _Muggle-born_ and he wanted her to join him. He didn't want to kill either of them. He only wanted to kill me. But he killed my dad and tried to kill my mum because they wouldn't let him touch me. My dad is dead because of me. My mum spent years in a coma and cries herself to sleep almost every night because she misses my dad and it's my fault." He stopped and focused on her. "Isn't it?"

Ginny's cheek twitched as she held his gaze. She was perfectly aware of what he was doing.

"I don't believe it, you know;" he broke the silence, "the prophecy. Oh, I'll fight him. It's pretty obvious I've got little choice in the matter. I'd fight him even if I did have a choice. But even if he kills me, that won't be the end. It's simple history. All you have to do is study it a bit to know that as long as someone is willing to fight back eventually someone with the ability to beat him will come along. So, you know, maybe he'll kill me… And you'll get your chance."

Ginny continued to stare at him for a time before she turned away. Again they sat in silence for quite some time before one of them spoke again. "I don't hate you," she whispered.

Harry nodded slowly. "Good."


	3. Chapter 3

Author's notes:

Standard disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR. Except where I might use some song lyrics which I will call out at the time and give proper credit. Thank you JKR for letting us play with your toys.

I will continue to use the occasional song lyric in the story and will give credit at the time when needed.

This is the fourth book in my Slytherin Harry series. And I'm departing from reusing JKR's title because too much of the story has changed. I'll leave it up to all of you to decide just who the Blood Traitor's Daughter is. In my mind there is more than one candidate.

Book 1: Harry Potter and the Muggle's Daughter

Book 2: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Book 3: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Book 4: Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor's Daughter.

If you haven't read books 1-3 you won't know what's going on. But the bonus is you've got three completed books before you even get to this one!

And last, the disappointing bits.

First, because the site gives me such difficulty uploading, I've adjusted my writing to make things easier and made chapters generally shorter than in the past I try to keep things at about 5000 words because it just works best.

Second, to ensure I keep the production of new material ahead of the pace of my posting I'm afraid I have to go to every other week. I'm sorry, but I'm doing the best I can.

* * *

 **HARRY POTTER AND THE BLOOD TRAITOR'S DAUGHTER**

 **CHAPTER III**

 **The Old Ways**

* * *

 _Ginny,_

 _I hope this letter finds you well. Or at least improving. I know you were still very upset when we left school. I miss talking with you. I know we only recently started becoming friends but I feel like I can trust you in ways I cannot with some of the other individuals in my social circle. To just about everyone I have ever met, the most important thing about me was my social status; you've never cared one way or the other. In fact, I can see your eyes rolling at what I've just said and I must admit it was the derision with which you looked upon me that piqued my interest in you. All my life I have been taught that I am the top of the pecking order and here you were, supposedly the bottom, and yet you couldn't have been less impressed with me. And yes, I know perfectly well that you are descended from two of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. But we both know the Weasleys and Prewetts long ago abandoned many of the more archaic customs of our society. In many cases, with good reason._

 _But enough of me directing flattery at you. I am the ascendant Lady in this friendship so do not get used to it and I do expect you to direct a bit of flattery my direction on occasion. Was that snarky enough for you?_

 _Anyway, I wished to write to see how you were doing and because I had a bit of news I wanted to share with you. Marcus has agreed to begin our formal courtship! The betrothal agreement says it's to begin on my fifteenth birthday – a full sixteen months from now! However, if all parties are in agreement it can begin earlier. Father is quite pleased with Marcus' bearing and has agreed – taking into account my age – to my request to begin our courtship early. Obviously, Marcus has agreed as well. Thank Merlin, because I do not know how I should have waited! As I've said before, I'm quite pleased with the match. But it would simply have been dreadful for our positions to be reversed and I cannot imagine how difficult it has been for Marcus._

 _Now, even more exciting than the beginning of my courtship_ _–_ _after all, a boyfriend is old hat to you_ _–_ _here's the best part, I'm to go to Diagon Alley and Madam Sheridan's to purchase a new dress for my first official meeting with Marcus! To that end I come to the second, or perhaps third, point of this missive. I was hoping that you might be able to_ _join me and we could make a day of it? We could have lunch and perhaps do a bit of other shopping. I should even indulge you in visiting the quidditch shoppe. Sorry, I had to put that in as I had obviously fallen into being far too formal for you. I'm perfectly capable of your level of snark, thank you very much._

 _So there it is, Miss Ginevra Weasley – quit rolling your eyes at me – I formally request you join me for a day of all things feminine. I have the next two weeks to find a dress so please inform me if you would be able to join me at you're earliest convenience._

 _With kindest regards_

 _Daphne (ascendant Lady) Greengrass._

"So can I go?" Ginny asked.

Bill considered the letter. "I'll think about it."

"You went to Diagon Alley when you were twelve. And you let me go to Bourton"

Bill pressed his lips together. "I did," he agreed. "But you are not me. And Bourton is a Muggle area. Diagon Alley isn't."

"So because I'm a girl I'm to be treated differently?"

Bill eyed her for a second. This was the most she'd spoken to him since the Chamber and he wondered how much he could push her. "Honestly, I have some issues. As far as I'm concerned, Lord Greengrass doesn't exactly have the best reputation. I know Dad was wary of him. Officially they were neutral during the war. There is nothing to indicate that neutrality was compromised, but neutral is not the same as being right. You understand that, correct?"

"Yes."

Bill fingered the letter. "Who is Marcus?"

"Marcus Flint. He was quidditch captain my first-year."

Bill cocked his head. That was news. "His father was a Death Eater, you're aware of that?"

"Marcus protected me first-year."

"Oh?"

Ginny shrugged. "He made it known I wasn't to be touched."

Bill quirked an eye. "And how did he do that?"

"Put, Malfoy, Nott and Zabini in hospital when they tried."

Bill scowled. "And where is Snape or Dumbledore in this?"

"It doesn't work that way in Slytherin," she muttered bitterly. Bill pressed his lips into a thin line. He was going to have to talk with Andromeda and get a better picture of how things worked in Slytherin house. "Charlie likes him," Ginny added.

"I know. Sirius has been digging on the Flints and Greengrasses for a while now. He feels they've been subtly shifting away from their pasts. If it was just this, I'd say yes."

Ginny frowned. "What else is there?" Bill took a breath and blew it out. "What?" she demanded.

"You can go, but you have to have someone with you and you'll be wearing an emergency portkey."

"What? Why?"

"Because someone wants you, Firefly. Someone wants you; they're still out there, and I'll be damned if I let them take you."

Ginny blanched. "You t–think someone would try to t–take me again?"

Bill reached across the table and put his hand on hers. "I'm going to do everything I can to prevent him coming back, but it might not be enough. And if he does, he's going to want to know what happened to his Horcruxes. You, a child, fought him off for almost two years. Mum didn't. Not knowing what it was, I couldn't have done it. Of everyone I know the only person besides yourself who could have fought that thing off is Harry. But that's just _him_ , Firefly. Right now, he's not even the biggest worry. Someone else wants you too and until we stop them both, you are in as much, if not more, danger than Harry."

Ginny stared at him for a few seconds before she pulled her hand from his. "I'll write her and tell her I can't go," she said, her voice small and broken.

 _Damn it,_ Bill fumed. He caught her arm. "Firefly, you can go. You just need to take some precautions."

Ginny shook her head. "I've already hurt too many people," she whispered. "I can't risk someone else getting hurt."

"Firefly—"

"Don't call me that!" She yanked her arm from his hand.

Bill held his hands up. "Ginny," he placated. She ran to her _room_ , but a cordoned off area in the living room wasn't what she needed. "Arrgh!" she let out a primal scream and turned, looking frantically around the flat. "Ginny," Bill tried again. Ginny spied the fireplace and her eyes lit up. "Ginny," he warned.

She ignored him and practically dove in it, grabbing a handful of floo powder, she cried, "The Burrow!"

Bill stared after her for a second. Of all places he'd never have expected her to go there. "Aw hell," he muttered and apparated after her.

Ginny skidded out of the fireplace in the parlour of the Burrow. Without missing a beat she was running out the door, leaving six flabbergasted faces in her wake. "Ginevra!" her mother cried.

"Go to hell, Mother!" Ginny screamed.

"Well," Percy sniffed disdainfully.

"Dirty snake," Ron muttered.

"Ginevra, you get back here," Molly said at the same time.

The twins turned and slugged Ron, one in the left check, the other the right. He slumped over, moaning. "That is enough!" Minerva shrieked.

Bill apparated in with a sharp crack. "William!" Mum cried.

"Which way?" he demanded. The twins pointed to the door. "Right," he said and ran after Ginny.

Molly went to follow but the door slammed shut on her. "Whatever is going on between William and Ginny, I believe it perfectly clear your presence will only make things worse," Minerva said. "You two, your room, now." Grinning unrepentantly the twins went, giving a fist bump along the way. Minerva moved to examine Ron. "Are you alright?"

Ginny was out of sight by the time Bill exited the house but he had a fair idea where she was going and quickly made his way round to the back garden. He spied her just as she disappeared into her treehouse. "I swear," he muttered darkly, taking a seat on the back porch, "whomever you are, I'm going to castrate you and feed you your own balls before I kill you."

Ginny had been in her treehouse an hour before the trap door opened. She scowled. She should have known Bill could get past anything she might have done. He climbed in and let the door slam shut before sitting with his back against the wall opposite her. She said nothing. "So are you staying here tonight?" She looked at him sharply. "It's within the wards of the Burrow so it's as safe as the flat. I rather doubt Mum or anyone else can get past those locking spells, but I'll ward it just to be sure. I'll give you a portkey to the flat so you don't have to go in the house to use the toilet. Or I suppose you can if you like. Will you be coming to the flat for breakfast?" Ginny just stared at him. "If you need space, you need space. But you've got to talk to me, Ginny. Or talk to Andromeda, or Remus or Harry. Or if you want, talk to Daphne, she can come to the flat or here, whatever, I don't care. You can go to Diagon Alley if you want. But not without a guard and the emergency portkey."

"I can't risk hurting someone else," she whispered.

"So you're going to spend the rest of your life in your treehouse then?" Ginny picked at the blanket she was sitting on. "You can't stop living, Ginny. You just need to take a few more precautions than most."

"I didn't know what I was doing and it's killing me. If I went to Diagon Alley and someone tried to get me and Daphne got hurt I'd never forgive myself."

Bill sighed. "So, will you not be returning to school in the fall?"

Ginny stilled. She hadn't thought of that. She hadn't thought of a lot of things apparently. She really wasn't safe anywhere. The last year was proof of that. "I could transfer somewhere. Somewhere no one would know me."

"You could," Bill agreed. "But eventually the truth will out. You are too gifted, too powerful and too intelligent for it to not. No matter where you go you are a target. If it's not this wizard, then it'll be another. It's one of the reasons governments try so hard to keep the truth about sorcerers like yourself or Harry hidden. People like Harry, especially, are problematic. Magic is like water. It seeks it's own level. Fifty years ago Dumbledore and Grindelwald went at it. Dumbledore won and the Light gained dominance for a long time. But Grindelwald was barely in his grave and Voldemort was already on the rise. It took a long time for him to really start moving. Eventually he did and Magic gave the world Harry to deal with him."

"So you're saying if Harry wins there will just be another dark sorcerer who will eventually defeat him?"

Bill shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not. Voldemort is the worst Dark Lord of the last thousand years. Before him it was Grindelwald. Before him it was a half dozen others. But near as I can tell none of them before Grindelwald were really all that bad till you get back to Slytherin; at least in England and Europe. Harry might defeat Voldemort and maybe we get a few hundred years of relative peace before someone really bad comes along. It's actually very strange that Dumbledore, Grindelwald, Voldemort and Harry have all originated in England. And granted, Grindelwald was born in Germany, but England is not a particularly large magical community. There are at least a dozen other countries with larger magical populations and China and India both have entirely magical cities with populations greater than the whole of the magical population of the England."

Ginny went back to picking at her blanket. "It was me Bill. I don't understand how you can't hate me."

"Was it you?" Bill asked.

"The spell came out of me, didn't it?"

"Then do it again."

"What?"

"You heard me. If that spell came from you, do it again." Ginny stared at him. "Go on, without your wand, blast the wall out."

"I—"

"What if it had been Hermione he possessed," Bill pressed, "and it was Luna who had been killed, would you hate her?"

"She hates me," Ginny muttered.

"I'm not asking about Hermione. I'm asking if _you_ would blame her."

"I knew what it was. Maybe not exactly, but I knew it had made me do all those things and I couldn't stop it."

Bill leaned forward. " _It_ , Ginny. Not you. You couldn't stop _it._ Damn it, Ginny, if it had its hooks in me like it did you, _I_ couldn't have stopped it. I knew you were possessed the second I saw your eyes, Firefly. It – Was – Not – You."

Ginny picked at the blanket again. "Can I stay here tonight?" she whispered.

"You can stay here as long as you like."

Minerva knocked on the door to her goddaughter's room. "Molly?"

"Come in, Auntie," Molly called softly. Minerva pushed the door open and slipped in the room. She quietly closed the door and observed her goddaughter for a moment. Molly was sitting on her bed holding a picture frame. It was quite obvious she was crying. Minerva moved to the bed and sat beside her. She glanced at the picture. It was of the whole family, in a happier time. "My daughter hates me." Minerva said nothing. The line between love and hate was fine indeed. She didn't feel it too late for Molly to salvage her relationship with Ginny, but there was little doubt Ginny was falling to the hate side of that line and Molly's attitude since the truth had come out would only cement that if she didn't change her behavior. "Was I such a horrible mother?"

"I do not believe that to always have been the case."

"But you believe it to be true now."

"I would not be here if I did not feel things have gone horribly wrong of late." Molly said nothing. "You need to accept the truth, Molly. If you do not, Ginny will not be the only child you lose."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

"Sir will please follow," the elf said. It turned and set off without waiting for a reply. Sirius was left with little choice but to do as asked. The walk was not far though and he was given short chance to observe his surroundings. The home didn't appear to have changed much since his last visit as a child. The elf led him to the library and he was announced. "Master, Lord Black has arrived."

Anders Greengrass turned and strode forward. "That will be all, Bolden," he said. The elf bowed and left without a word. "Lord, Black," Anders said, offering his hand. "I'm pleased you accepted my invitation."

Sirius shook his hand. "You're letter intrigued me, Lord Greengrass."

"As that was my intent, that is a good thing. And please, call me Anders."

Sirius quirked a brow. "Sirius then," he agreed formally.

"Very good," Anders said. He released Sirius' hand and beckoned him over. "Join me, I've a decanter of goblin whiskey that is poorly held if consumed alone."

"Well," Sirius chuckled, "when you put it like that, lead on."

The Greengrass Lord led him to a setting with two comfortable chairs and a low table in front of a fireplace. Despite it being summer the fireplace was lit. As promised, a crystal decanter filled with a shimmering blue liquid, as well as two, cut crystal, tumblers were set on the table. The two men sat and Anders poured for them both. Sirius took his glass and knocked back a good swallow. He let out an appreciative sigh. "Now that does go down smooth; sixty-three?" he asked.

Anders chuckled and topped his glass again. "That it does. And close, sixty-two. It was apparently just a few degrees warmer than sixty-three and gives a bit more acidity to the brew… though I can't tell the difference." He set the decanter down, picked up his glass and raised it. "To auspicious beginnings."

Sirius bumped his glass to the other. "Auspicious beginnings," he agreed. They drank and then settled back in their chairs. Sirius waited while Anders composed himself.

"I shall not deny my family's history," Anders began. "Though I will point out it is much the same as yours. I will admit your awakening has been much more pronounced than mine. However, mine has, I believe, been longer in its inception. You will note that during the war we maintained the appearance of neutrality."

"It did not go unnoticed," Sirius conceded.

Anders nodded. "Honestly, I would like to have done more. Unfortunately the machinations of my great-great-grandfather rather tied my hands."

Sirius sipped from his glass. "I find myself intrigued," he offered.

Anders leaned forward slightly. "An agreement between my ancestor and his counterpart of the time, Lord Flint, was made. The Flints were in search of a suitable daughter for their son. My ancestor was newly married and both his and his wife's lines were known to have produced female children of no small magical potential.

"Of course the short of this history is no female children were produced in the Greengrass line till I had the misfortune of siring two. Don't get me wrong," he said at Sirius' scowl. "I adore both my daughters, but you will please bear with me as I explain my dismay."

"Of course," Sirius agreed.

"You see," Ander's picked up, "my great-great-grandfather was the last Greengrass to truly practice Dark Magic. He sired over a dozen children. All but for my great-grandfather were squibs. I'll spare the details, but I'm fairly certain you can guess the fate of many of those poor souls." Sirius nodded.

"For the most part," Anders continued, "we shall now leave my great-great-grandfather behind and move to his son; my great-grandfather. Understandably, he was a much-rejoiced child; even if he was rather poorly gifted magically. He was, however, not lacking for intelligence. And he, along with my great-great-grandfather, came to an interesting conclusion. Over time, the practice of Dark Magic leads to magically weaker and weaker children. When coupled with the inbreeding of the so-called pure-blood lines the decline becomes more and more pronounced. The devil is in the details of course, and at some point I can share my family's research with you, but the proof was there. And my great-great-grandfather, using his connections within the ministry was able to confirm this across more families than our own.

"Now the most obvious solution was, of course, to cease the practice of Dark Magic. Simply enough done. The more difficult part was the daughter the family was still obligated to provide the Flints. They were not receptive to my ancestor's gentle prodding to stop practicing Dark Magic. Nor were they interested in _diluting_ the blood of their descendants. The agreement remained in place and could not be broken for five generations. Unfortunately, Daphne is the fifth, instead of sixth, generation. I was forced to honor the betrothal to the ascendant Lord, Marcus Flint.

"As you can guess, I was sorely vexed by these circumstances. The family had spent the last four generations purging our blood of the taint of Dark Magic. We have also worked hard to find acceptable brides, choosing not from the lines of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, but from the newer. My great-grandfather, grandfather, father and myself have all chosen brides who only traced their magical heritage back the two generations required to meet the definition of being of pure-blood. Our efforts have proven their worth with our magic growing stronger. The culmination sees both my daughters being well into the 90th percentile. After all that, as I said, I was most displeased to condemn my daughter, her children, my grandchildren to a fate we have so diligently worked to avoid.

"But then, a stroke of grace fell on us. I like to think the Fates or perhaps Magic itself was rewarding us for our efforts. Marcus' father died when he was but a boy. Lady Flint had long ago grown disillusioned with her late husband and, as I was the boy's future father-in-law, she asked me to assume a paternal role. Marcus is as far from the teachings his father would have had him learn as it is possible to be. Disaster for my daughter has been averted."

Sirius swirled his glass. Anders wasn't telling him anything he didn't know regarding the practice of Dark Magic or the inbreeding of the pure-blood families. Lily had come to these same conclusions quite some time ago. Even the Weasley's, while not suffering to the extent of the Blacks, Malfoys or others of that ilk, were not producing as powerful of children as they had in the past due to the lack of new blood. The thing was, a 70th percentile sorcerer today, three-hundred years ago would only have been 50th. Magic in general, and in the UK in particular, was suffering because of inbreeding and the practice of Dark Magic. "So are you telling me you're ready to declare?"

"That would be one topic of discussion. But yes, I would be most willing to publicly formalize the friendship between our houses."

Sirius nodded. "Before I comment on your proposal, may I enquire as to the nature of your next topic?"

Anders took a breath and blew it out. "I have a second daughter, Lord Black… And you have a ward." Sirius nearly laughed outright. "Such a union would be beneficial to both families," Lord Greengrass went on, not catching Sirius' state. "I would offer the second son of the union the title of Lord Greengrass. If you already intend the second son to become Lord Black, I would make the offer to the third son should there be one."

Sirius took a drink, holding it in his mouth to buy himself time. "I thought you were against inbreeding."

"The Potter's are not one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. They are, or rather, were, only six generations pure before James married a Muggle-born girl. And let's not mince words, your ward is going to produce powerful magical children."

"And what of the second son of your eldest daughter, should there be one?"

Anders set his glass down and poured from the decanter before offering to Sirius. Once both glasses were full he sat back in his chair again. "This family is no longer Dark. And we recognized the folly of only marrying from within the Sacred Twenty-Eight a long time ago. That does not mean the importance of maintaining our magical heritage is to be thrown aside. It is my duty to see the Greengrass name and line carries on. Astoria is more gifted than her sister. Harry Potter is far more powerful than Marcus. The second, or third, male child of a union between Astoria and Harry Potter is far preferable to assume the title of Lord Greengrass."

Sirius studied the other man. "May I ask, if you have other things you wish to discuss with me today?"

"I believe things could wait for our next meeting. Say a week from today?"

Sirius drained his glass before setting it down and leaning forward. "Anders, I will tell you this. I am thrilled with your stated desire to declare the Greengrass name to the Light. I trust, as you brought it up first, this is not contingent on a betrothal agreement between your daughter and my ward…"

"It is not."

"Then, for that reason only, I will present your proposal to Harry. I will also tell you, young as he is, Harry already has his eye on someone and that I rather suspect he will cause me great bodily harm when I make the presentation."

Anders set his glass down and reached for a picture frame Sirius hadn't noticed because it was laid face down on a side table. "My eldest daughter is in the same year and house as your ward." He offered the frame to Sirius. "Give him this." Sirius eyed the photograph. "As I understand it, things have not been particularly smooth between your ward and Miss Weasley. Perhaps he might agree to at least meet my daughter."

Sirius took the picture. "I have a question for you."

"Of course."

"Is the most important thing the child's RoM score? Because while I broke from my family and their teachings. Barty Crouch Jr. broke from his family. What if Harry and Astoria's second or third son decided to break from the Light and embrace Dark Magic…?" Seeing Anders had not considered the possibility, Sirius went on, "I have no idea whom the future Lord Black will be. It may be one of Harry's children, a child of my own, or it may be my niece Nymphadora's child, I don't know. The only thing I know for certain is that I will name a _squib_ as the next Lord Black before I name someone I do not believe to be firmly grounded in the Light." Sirius paused and held the other man's gaze for a second. "I shall present your proposal to my ward." He stood. "I'll show myself out," he said and left.

Anders stared after Sirius for some time before becoming aware of another presence. He turned to see Daphne standing in a side doorway to the Library.

"You have ill used me, father."

"You were listening."

"If you did not wish me to listen then you should have met with Lord Black in your study. Is that not our practice?"

"You're angry I would give the title of Lord Greengrass to your sister's child?"

"Ginny Weasley is my friend. I shall be very hurt if you have cost me that friendship."

"Is not your sister and the family more important than your friendship with her?"

Daphne raised her chin. "Ginny would never judge my worth by the strength of my magic. Apparently that is more than can be said of you."

"Daphne, that's not—"

"No," she cut him off. All my life, everyone I have met, the underlying motivation lay in what my social station could bring them. It has taken my friendship with Ginny to show me my father sees me the same."

"Daphne—"

"Do not deny your words or actions, Father. Hurtful they may be, but they have shown me the truth. And is that not what you and mother have always taught Astoria and I, to know the truth of another's motivations is the greatest knowledge of them we can have?" She raised her chin. "My value to you is less than that of Astoria. That is the truth. This hurts, but rest assured I shall not let it change my love for Astoria or Mother." She turned to go but paused. "Nor shall I let this affect my duty to our family. I am young yet. I know this. But if my advice were asked, it would be this. There was a warning in Lord Black's words. I feel that it would be wise of you to contact him and tell him you have reconsidered the idea of a betrothal." She turned to go again.

"Daphne," her father called.

She stopped in the doorway. "I shall be in my room composing a letter to Ginny. As I said, I shall remember my duty to my family and not tell her what it is you have done; only that I am saddened by your actions and that I hope, when she finds out, she will not hold it against me." She was gone before he could respond and did not heed his calls for her to return.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

 _Ginny,_

 _I realize I am sending this far to soon to have expected a response in regards to my last letter of you. I fear something has occurred that may cause you to reconsider your friendship with me. Because I have come to value your friendship quite highly; even more so since I last wrote, I felt I needed to act with all possible haste._

 _I am, unfortunately, somewhat trapped between my duty to my family and my desire to protect our friendship. I am afraid I cannot say exactly what has occurred, only that I am quite saddened by the actions that have been taken. I swear to you, on our friendship, I held no prior knowledge of these actions and beg of you, when you become aware of what has been done, that you not let it affect your thoughts of me._

 _I mentioned in my previous letter that it was your derision of my social status that intrigued me about you. Please know that your derision and the knowledge that you would never judge my worth by the strength of my magic has become exponentially more valuable to me since I last wrote you and that I would be devastated to lose your friendship._

 _I do understand this all sounds very dire and do wish I could tell you exactly what has happened. On the one hand I expect you will be quite upset when you learn what has occurred. On the other, I expect, were I to actually tell you what has happened, you would laugh in my face. So please do not allow this to cause you undue concern. Ultimately, I must admit, I expect nothing at all will come of any of this._

 _I shall end this highly confusing mess now and hope when we next see each other you tell me I am an idiot and I have much to learn about not being a snooty little twit._

 _Your friend,_

 _Daph_

Highly confused, and not a little exasperated, Ginny stared at the letter in her hand. It was very strange indeed and she was quite curious as to just what Daphne thought the problem was. If Daphne only knew she was about the only person in her life who didn't make her uncomfortable right now, she'd see just how unlikely she was to give up that friendship. She also wondered about the shortening of Daphne's name. It wasn't like she had ever done so. She had always been very careful to use Daphne's full name. She may not have spent much time, well any to be exact, in Daphne's social circle, but she knew it was considered very uncouth to shorten someone's given name. Only the closest of friends might do so and then only in private. She hadn't realized she and Daphne had become that close. But then Daphne intimated she had given something to her that no one else ever had and Ginny could appreciate that. But what was it about Daphne that didn't set her teeth on edge right now? Was it because Daphne was the one person in the disaster her life was who she hadn't harmed? Yes, that was it. Daphne was the only person she could look in the eyes right now and not feel like she was unworthy to do so. She set the letter aside and activated the portkey Bill had given her.

"Hey," Bill said when she'd picked herself from the floor. He smirked. "Maybe by the end of summer you'll have figured out how to land on something other than your bum.

"Who would go with me if I went to Diagon Alley?"

Bill sat back in his chair. "Tonks has already been shadowing you, Harry and Hermione when you're training in Bourton. I'd thought to ask her."

"She's been following us already?"

"She has."

Ginny frowned. "I haven't seen her."

"That's the point."

"Do Harry and Hermione know?"

"Sort of."

"Sort of?"

"Harry has almost always had someone following him. Hermione has ever since it became apparent to Harry she was a witch. I don't think either of them realizes to just what extent they are watched though."

Ginny looked down at the floor for a second. "How lucky for them," she muttered.

"I think you should speak with Harry before you go judging whether or not he's aware of the danger he presents to his friends," Bill chastised. "As I understand it he has been where you are. And, if you'll remember, he took steps to protect you from the day you met."

Ginny looked up at him. "What do you mean about where I am?"

Bill shook his head. "I'm sorry, Ginny. What you went through is unique to you alone. But that doesn't change the fact that many, many, others have suffered similar experiences. If you want to know what Harry has been through, you will need to speak with him."

Ginny frowned. Harry had alluded to being to blame for his father's murder when he'd come after her after she'd heard the prophecy. The truth was it was eerily similar to what had happened to her father. She gave a mental shake. She didn't want to think on how much alike she and Harry were right now. "How much can I tell, Daphne?" Bill pursed his lips. "Shouldn't she know there's danger in being my friend?"

"You need to be careful of the details, but you can certainly tell her that. But you agreed to keep certain secrets when you first became friends with Harry and Hermione. That hasn't changed and I believe you are perfectly aware of what you can and can't tell her. That can only change if she is taken into the fold."

Ginny considered. "I'd like to meet her in Diagon Alley then."

"Let me speak with Tonks and find out when she would be available to escort you."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

"Bopkin," Xenophilius Lovegood greeted his daughter at the breakfast table with a kiss to her crown.

"Hi, Daddy," Luna answered with a smile.

She went back to her porridge and he quietly observed her whilst busying himself with tea and toast. It had been a difficult year. He'd never doubted she would be fine, but had, of course, been understandably upset to learn she had been attacked whilst at school. And for the most part she seemed perfectly fine since returning to him for the summer. But something had changed as well and he was concerned about it. "Something's bothering you, Bopkin, what is it?"

Luna stilled. Something was bothering her. Ginevra had been very badly hurt this past year; far more than herself. And it had started last summer, when Ginevra had been forced to go home to the Burrow because first William, and then Charlie – strange, her tummy no longer went all gooey when she thought of him – had been taken away from her friend. Of course she was perfectly aware of the jealousy Molly Weasley held towards Ginevra. It had always bothered her. And she had been concerned about Ginevra returning to her mother's care after the year they had had. But she'd been so excited about her adventure with her father and the chance to spend time with him after being away for most of the previous ten months she had pushed aside her concerns. She hadn't realized that she was rather abandoning Ginevra as well. And now, after a year much worse than her first, when Ginevra was no doubt more than ever in need of her friends being close, she had gone and abandoned her once again. Of course Ginevra had her brothers and Harry and Hermione available to her this year. She would not suffer under her mother's jealousy as she had last summer. But _she_ was Ginevra's oldest and best friend. Shouldn't she be there for her? But then she hadn't seen her father in a very long time either and he had been so excited to take her on another adventure. And she did love going on adventures with him. And it had only been till just before Harry's birthday this year. And she really did want to find a crumple-horned snorkack. But she was feeling guilty for leaving Ginevra. She couldn't deny that fact any longer. And that made her feel guilty for not wanting to be with her father. It was all just no fun at all. But her heart had been telling her what she needed to do for days now and that was that.

"I feel like Ginevra needs me, Daddy."

Xenophilius tipped his head slightly. "Well then, we shall return so that you may be where your heart says you are needed."

A tear slipped down Luna's cheek. "I'm sorry, Daddy."

He put his hand on hers. "There are many crumple-horned snorkacks in the world, Bopkin. And there shall be plenty of expeditions to find them. You have but one heart and I would never ask you to damage it by not listening to what it says. If your heart says that Ginevra needs you, then my heart says that is what we shall do."

Luna threw herself into his arms. "Oh thank you, Daddy. Thank you, thank you, thank you."


	4. Chapter 4

Author's notes:

Standard disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR. Except where I might use some song lyrics which I will call out at the time and give proper credit. Thank you JKR for letting us play with your toys.

I will continue to use the occasional song lyric in the story and will give credit at the time when needed.

This is the fourth book in my Slytherin Harry series. And I'm departing from reusing JKR's title because too much of the story has changed. I'll leave it up to all of you to decide just who the Blood Traitor's Daughter is. In my mind there is more than one candidate.

Book 1: Harry Potter and the Muggle's Daughter

Book 2: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Book 3: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Book 4: Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor's Daughter.

If you haven't read books 1-3 you won't know what's going on. But the bonus is you've got three completed books before you even get to this one!

And last, the disappointing bits.

First, because the site gives me such difficulty uploading, I've adjusted my writing to make things easier and made chapters generally shorter than in the past I try to keep things at about 5000 words because it just works best.

Second, to ensure I keep the production of new material ahead of the pace of my posting I'm afraid I have to go to every other week. I'm sorry, but I'm doing the best I can.

* * *

 **HARRY POTTER AND THE BLOOD TRAITOR'S DAUGHTER**

 **CHAPTER IV**

 **From the Ashes**

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

As Bill led her to Madam Sheridan's Ginny searched the faces milling about Diagon Alley, seeing if she could spot Tonks. She'd been trying to pick the auror trainee out ever since Bill had told her she was following herself, Harry and Hermione when they were training around the Briar Patch but had yet to do so. She wasn't having any better luck today. She was of two minds about today. Well it was possible she was of far more than just two minds, but she was doing her best to force herself into being excited. Her _Tom_ voice seemed particularly mouthy ever since she'd decided to meet Daphne, but she was getting rather good at pretending she didn't hear it. Still, she was quite nervous about exactly how and what she could tell Daphne. She was also hoping to get more out of her friend regarding the strange letter she had sent. She'd yet to hear exactly what it was that had Daphne worried.

Bill pushed the door of the shoppe open and Ginny was instantly out of place. The gowns, robes and fabrics were far and away finer than anything she had ever even dreamed of wearing – well, except for the things Harry had given her that she had burnt – and she was suddenly quite conscious of her worn blouse and second hand skirt.

A woman, impeccably put together in a tight white blouse, slim black skirt and very high heels greeted them. "May I help you?" She gave Ginny a cursory glance before eyeing Bill up and down.

"Ginny!" Daphne exclaimed, coming round the corner. She hurried over and enveloped the other girl in a tight hug. "Oh, I'm so happy you could come." Daphne released her, but held both her hands while grinning broadly.

Ginny couldn't help smiling back. "Hi, Daphne. I'm glad I could come as well. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed the sales woman discretely slipping away while another woman, who was obviously Daphne's mother joined them. Ginny turned to her brother. "Bill, I'd like you to meet my friend, Daphne Greengrass. Daphne, my eldest brother, William Weasley."

Daphne smiled and held her hand out. "A pleasure to meet you, Mr Weasley," she said.

Bill took her hand and raised it to his lips. "William, please," he said. "Ginny has told me you've been a good friend to her. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance." He released her hand.

Daphne smiled. "Ginny speaks highly of you as well," she said before turning to her mother. "Mother, my friend, Ginevra Weasley and her brother William."

Adrianna Greengrass held her hand out. Bill took it and raised it to his lips. "Lady, Greengrass," he said.

She smiled and took her hand back. "It is a pleasure to meet you, William. And please, call me Adrianna."

Bill inclined his head slightly. "As you wish, Adrianna."

She turned and offered her hand to Ginny. "And you my dear, my daughter has told me much of you. I am quite glad to finally set a face to your name."

Ginny blushed as she shook hands with the older witch. "Thank you, Ma'am."

Adrianna smiled and turned back to Bill. "Well," she said, "I believe we can leave these two to their own devices for a few hours. Will you join me for tea, William?"

"It would be my honor," Bill agreed.

"Very good then. Daphne, I shall expect you no later than four."

"Yes, Mother."

She smiled at Ginny again. "I look forward to seeing you again, Ginevra. Perhaps you would care to join Daphne and I for tea at our home, say next Tuesday?"

Ginny glanced at Bill. "Why don't you and I discuss that together, Adrianna," Bill said.

"Of course. Four, Daphne. Do not be late."

"Yes, Mother."

"Ginevra," Adrianna said. Bill opened the door and held it. Adrianna exited and Bill followed. Through the window, Ginny saw him offer his arm. Daphne's mother took it and they set off down the Alley.

Ginny turned to Daphne who burst into giggles. "You didn't tell me your brother was gorgeous," she accused.

Ginny swatted her arm. "You're to buy a dress to begin your courtship, you shouldn't be ogling my brother. Besides, Marcus is quite good looking as well."

"Well so is Harry." Ginny flinched. "What's wrong?" Daphne asked.

"Nothing. Let's find your dress." Daphne eyed her. "I don't want to talk about it, Daphne."

Daphne scowled. "Fine."

"Fine."

Daphne grabbed her hand and tugged her along. "Come on. Mother insisted we come early so she could make certain I was looking at appropriate styles. I need your help finding something else."

Later that afternoon, Ginny and Daphne were sitting in Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour – Ginny with a bowl of mint chip and Daphne with strawberry – when it hit her. Her bowl of mint chip looked exactly like the stracciatella she'd had with Sandra at the gelato shoppe near Bill and Charlie's flat. Sandra had called it therapy. Before she knew it tears had sprung from her eyes. "Ginny?" Daphne asked.

"Excuse me," Ginny croaked and bolted for the toilet, barely making it before losing the contents of her stomach. She'd been in the toilet retching for some time before there was a knock on the door.

"Ginny, are you alright?" Daphne called.

"Just a minute," Ginny called back. She spit in the toilet and wiped at her mouth, then moved to the sink to clean up. Once done she opened the door. "I'm sorry," she said. "I just got sick all of the sudden."

Daphne eyed her before taking her hand. "Come with me." She pulled Ginny out of the ice cream parlour and led her to Rosa Lea Teabag and Tea House. "Hello, Madam Rosa," she said on entering. "Would you happen to have a private room available?"

"Certainly, Miss Greengrass," the woman answered. "If you would follow me." She set off. Daphne followed, pulling Ginny along.

"What are you doing," Ginny hissed. "I can't afford this."

"I can. Now hush," Daphne said.

"Daphne!" Ginny protested.

They reached the room Madam Rosa had chosen for them and Daphne rounded on her. "Don't argue with me, Ginevra," she said. "Something is obviously wrong and we're going to talk about it."

Ginny glared back at her. "Did you just call me Ginevra?"

"What if I did?"

"Don't."

"Then don't call me Daphne."

"Fine."

"Fine." The two girls continued to stare each other down while Madam Rosa pretended not to notice their disagreement. "Are you going to get in there or do I have to make you?"

Ginny narrowed her eyes. "You couldn't if you tried."

"No, probably not," Daphne agreed. "You are making a scene," she said pointedly.

Ginny's nostrils flared. "Fine," she snapped and pushed past Daphne into the room.

Daphne smiled at Madam Rosa. "We shall need service for two please."

"Certainly, Miss Greengrass."

Daphne entered the room and quietly closed the door. She sat down and patiently waited while Ginny paced like a caged animal. Ginny rounded and glared at her, seeming to be ready to go off. But with impeccable timing, Madam Rosa returned with their tea. Ginny snapped her mouth closed while the woman set the service down and quietly left. Daphne calmly poured for them both, sat back in her chair with her cup and met Ginny's gaze without flinching. She was after all, in a fashion, trained for this sort of thing. And she had far more patience than Ginny did.

Ginny deflated and threw herself in the other chair. "You are seriously annoying."

Daphne shrugged. "And you're temperamental."

"Why do you like me?"

"Because you're the one person outside of my family who doesn't care one whit what my last name is."

"Is that really it?"

"Honestly?"

"Yes."

Daphne smirked. "Well there is the fact you kneed Draco Malfoy in the family jewels. You have no idea how I would like to have been able to do that."

Ginny slowly grinned back. "Hey, don't forget about Crabbe, and Goyle and that I broke Parkinson and Davis' noses."

"Oh, I'm not, trust me… Why do you like me?"

"Because you're nice."

"Is that it, really?"

Ginny shrugged. "Is there anything else that really matters?"

Daphne considered. "I suppose not."

Ginny picked up her tea and sipped it. "What the hell was that second letter you sent me?"

"You haven't heard already?"

"Can't say that I have."

"Interesting," Daphne mused. "First tell me what is going on between you and Harry."

"There's nothing going on between us," Ginny muttered.

"I thought you had made up before everything happened."

"Everything that happened is why nothing is going on between us."

"I'm waiting," Daphne said when Ginny didn't go on.

Ginny sighed. "I can't really talk about it, Daph. Just, nothing's going on between us. Nothing _can_ go on between us."

"That's not very helpful."

"I did something, Daphne. Something really terrible. And… nothing is going on between us."

"More terrible than burning his gifts?"

Ginny stared at her teacup. "Yes."

Daphne frowned. "And you can't tell me what you did?"

"I'm sorry. I can't."

"Alright then. Perhaps some time in the future you can tell me." Ginny stood up and started pacing again. "What are you doing?"

"Pacing."

"Obviously. Why?"

"Daphne, there's something you should know about me."

"Well, while there are lots of things I would _like_ to know about you, I'm pretty certain anything I _should_ know about you, I do."

Ginny stopped pacing and glared at the other girl. "You think so, do you?"

"Yes."

"And what if I told you I'm not 73rd percentile. I'm not even 98th. I'm 9997." Daphne's jaw dropped. "And some bastard, who I don't even know, has decided I'm going to pump out magically powerful babies for him. He murdered my father to make it easier to get to me. He tried to kill Bill; it wasn't an accident that he was trapped in that pyramid. Supposedly there has been an attempt on Charlie's life as well. Oh, and did I mention my mother has been attacked and forced to put Compulsion Charms on me to make it easier for this spineless nob to get his hands on me. Ginny held up her wrist. This bracelet you like so much, it's a portkey. It's also a personal ward that if I'm attacked will automatically zip me away. Before I could come here today I had to agree to wear it. If I felt I was in danger at all I was to grab you and take us both to my safe house. As if that weren't enough, I have a bodyguard that's been following me around the whole summer. You think you know what you need to about me, you don't. It isn't safe to be my friend, Daphne."

Daphne slowly set her teacup down. "You cannot be serious."

"Do I look like I'm having a laugh?" Ginny retorted.

"No. You do not… And I told you not to call me Daphne."

Ginny stared at her before throwing her arms up and exploding. "Did you hear anything I just said?"

"I did. You are truly that powerful?"

"Yes."

"And your father? You have proof of these things?"

"Not enough to do anything about it," Ginny said bitterly. "Three in ten-thousand. A lot of good it's done me." She swiped at the tear on her cheek. "Urgh! I hate crying! I never used to cry."

Daphne reached out and caught Ginny's hand. "I am truly sorry for your loss, Ginny."

Ginny stared at the other girl. "You really want to be my friend; after all of that?"

"The only thing I wish for more is that Marcus is truly as good as he seems."

"People get hurt around me, Daphne; bad," Ginny added softly.

Daphne held her gaze. "I told you not to call me Daphne." She smiled and squeezed Ginny's hand.

Ginny gave her a weak smile. "How is it that I asked you a question and I'm the one who ends up spilling her guts?"

Daphne grinned. "Because I am a smarter than you. It's only natural, as I'm older."

"Ha," Ginny retorted, "as if. Are you going to tell me what that letter was about?"

Daphne sighed. "I'm afraid that I have already gone against my family as much as I dare in that regard. I'm sorry, I can say no more."

Ginny frowned. "I suppose that's only fair."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

"Hello?" Luna called from the fireplace in William and Charlie's flat. It really had been good they were able to put a portable hearth in. Interesting as Muggle travel was, the floo network was much more convenient. "Is anyone there?"

"Luna?" Bill asked curiously, poking his head in from the kitchen. "Is everything alright? I hadn't expected to hear from you for a couple weeks yet."

"Ginevra needs me," Luna answered. "Is she there?"

Bill grinned. Luna was, perhaps, the oddest person he'd ever met. But she and Ginny had always gotten on. They simply understood each other. If there was one person who could reach his sister, he'd bet on Luna. "Come through and I'll take you to her."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Ginny was in her treehouse contemplating her day with Daphne – it really had been good. Trying, certainly, but good as well. It wasn't so much that she could forget what she'd done, but that she could look at Daphne and not feel guilty. She was starting to believe that people really didn't blame her for what had happened. And she was beginning to believe Remus had been right that night in the hospital when she'd nearly jumped out the window. The voice in her head sounded like Tom but it really did seem _he_ was gone. It could snark away as nastily as it wished but there was never a second where it had actually taken control of her. She was beginning to believe that it couldn't. But none of that changed the guilt she felt.

It was really difficult going to the Briar Patch. Whatever recovery she might have managed thus far, it took every bit of control she could muster to be around Harry. For some reason just looking at him made her angry and she couldn't figure why. She had no reason to be angry with him. She'd be dead without him. As difficult as it was being around Harry, Hermione was worse. Though she wasn't angry with Hermione. On the contrary, Hermione was angry with her. Ginny didn't blame her one bit. But she had no choice but to go. Bill refused to let her just stay at the flat or in her treehouse all day. It was hard, but she was able to force herself into it because of the lessons they were getting. She refused to allow Mrs Tonks anywhere near her mind yet, but she had plenty of reason to become as formidable a witch as the world had seen in a good long while and the best place to be to make that happen was the Briar Patch.

Attempting to get her mind off Harry and Hermione, she tried reading a bit, but just wasn't interested so she settled herself in her makeshift bed for the night. She doubted she could get through the night without waking in terror, but she could hope. She had just closed her eyes when the chime indicating someone was portkeying into the treehouse sounded. Her wand slid from her wrist holster to her hand. Only Bill, Charlie and Auntie Minerva knew she was spending her nights there so she should have been perfectly fine, but better safe than sorry. It had been upsetting to realize she was probably never going to be free of someone wanting to harm her. But once she had accepted it, she had determined she would never be anyone's victim again. Wondering just what Bill wanted she was very surprised when it wasn't him, or Charlie or even Auntie Minerva, but Luna who appeared. Her friend landed gracefully and smiled brightly.

"There you are!"

"L–Luna? Wh–what are you doing here?" Ginny stammered.

"You needed me," she said simply. She plopped into the pile of blankets with Ginny. "Budge over a bit."

"B–but—"

"You're my best friend, Ginevra," Luna cut her off. "And you needed me."

Ginny stared at the other girl for the longest time before a tear slid down her cheek. "I'm so sorry," she hiccupped.

Luna pulled Ginny's head to her lap. "Shush now, you have nothing to be sorry for."

Ginny lay in Luna's lap, quietly sniffling while Luna combed her fingers through her hair. "I've been crying all day," Ginny muttered, "I hate crying."

"How many times have I told you there is nothing wrong with crying?"

"It's pathetic," Ginny retorted.

"Harry cries. Is he pathetic?"

"I don't want to talk about Harry."

"Very well. Shall we talk about Besotting Plimper bites? I thought I detected some on Hermione on the train but was uncertain."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Would you just go away already," Ron muttered.

"What was that?" Minerva asked.

"Nothing," he mumbled.

Minerva pursed her lips. Despite nearly two years of Ronald gracing her study halls at school he remained near the bottom, if not _the_ bottom of his classes. There really was no need for it. Surely his magic wasn't the problem. He may not have been the most gifted of his siblings, but he certainly was not the bottom of his classmates. Besides, no student was accepted into Hogwarts unless they were magically gifted enough to complete the curriculum. Nor was his intelligence the reason for his failure. To be certain he was not the most gifted in that regard either, but his occasional fits of good performance proved he was capable. No, it was sheer laziness on a scale Minerva could not recall ever encountering that was to blame. The problem had grown to such a point that those occasional fits were no longer going to be enough to make up for when he did not perform adequately. The third-year curriculum became significantly more difficult and the pace more intense and she had little doubt his current efforts would see him fail and he would be forced to repeat the year.

This presented no small problem. A Hogwarts education was not an inexpensive opportunity. The Weasleys, not being particularly well off and having five children in attendance, had been forced to take advantage of hardship scholarships for both Ronald and Ginevra. But those funds came with stipulations. Barring extenuating circumstances, they would not pay for a student to repeat a year. Ronald's performance issues would not be considered extenuating. William and Charlie were certainly performing their duty to their family by providing financial support, but she very much doubted their good graces would extend to paying for Ronald to repeat a year of his education. In her opinion, it was too much to ask of them. Frankly, she was of the opinion Molly should be doing something to help ease the burden on her sons. It was one thing to not be working with a house full of children. But it had been two years now since the last of her children had went off to school. Molly was home alone for ten months of the year. To rely on the death benefit form the Ministry was all well and good, but it was high time her goddaughter did something with herself. But Molly was an issue for another day. Right now she needed to get through to Ronald.

"Ronald," she sighed, "exactly what is your issue?"

"What?"

"There is nothing wrong with your magic. Nor is there anything wrong with your mind. Yet you seem intent on failing. Do you truly wish to spend two years as a third-year student? Because, I promise you, that is what shall occur should you not markedly improve your performance."

"My marks aren't that bad," he said sullenly.

"I shall not dignify that statement with a response."

"I'm going to be a quidditch player. I don't need good marks."

"And what are you going to do after you finish playing quidditch?"

"I'll have plenty of money. I won't need to work."

Minerva crossed her arms. "Tell me Ronald, who is your favorite player ever?"

Ron frowned, confused by her change of direction. "Graham Rowle."

"He played for the Canons, yes?" Ron stared at her. "What," she asked, "did you think I came to the matches simply out of support for my house? I'll have you know, once upon a time, I was a fair turn on a broom myself. I even played for Gryffindor during my sixth year."

"You did?"

"Yes. I was a slasher."

"I didn't know that."

"No, I imagine not," she agreed. "Though unlike yourself, I recognized that I did not have the talent to play professionally." She held her hand up. "I am not intimating that _you_ do not have that talent, only that I recognized I did not. I chose not to play my seventh year so that I could focus on my studies and the animagus transformation."

"That's really cool," Ron said.

"What is really cool?"

"Your animagus. Why don't you teach us cool things like that at school?"

"Cool things like that _are_ taught at Hogwarts, Ronald. But the animagus transformation is one of the most difficult transfigurations in magic. It is essentially wandless magic and without the proper base of knowledge one cannot hope to complete it. Magic is no different than quidditch Ronald. One cannot hope to become a professional without spending hours practicing as you so diligently do. I would be more than happy to teach you the animagus transformation, but not till such time as you have put in the prerequisite effort."

"I could never do that," Ron said dismissively.

"You could, Ronald. You must simply decide it is worth the effort you would need to expend. Tell me, why do you wish to be a quidditch player?"

"Because it's really cool and people look up to them."

Minerva leaned forward. "And do you not think people look on those of us who are animagus with a bit of the same awe they hold for quidditch players?"


	5. Chapter 5

Author's notes:

Standard disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR. Except where I might use some song lyrics which I will call out at the time and give proper credit. Thank you JKR for letting us play with your toys.

I will continue to use the occasional song lyric in the story and will give credit at the time when needed.

This is the fourth book in my Slytherin Harry series. And I'm departing from reusing JKR's title because too much of the story has changed. I'll leave it up to all of you to decide just who the Blood Traitor's Daughter is. In my mind there is more than one candidate.

Book 1: Harry Potter and the Muggle's Daughter

Book 2: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Book 3: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Book 4: Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor's Daughter.

If you haven't read books 1-3 you won't know what's going on. But the bonus is you've got three completed books before you even get to this one!

And last, the disappointing bits.

First, because the site gives me such difficulty uploading, I've adjusted my writing to make things easier and made chapters generally shorter than in the past I try to keep things at about 5000 words because it just works best.

Second, to ensure I keep the production of new material ahead of the pace of my posting I'm afraid I have to go to every other week. I'm sorry, but I'm doing the best I can.

* * *

 **HARRY POTTER AND THE BLOOD TRAITOR'S DAUGHTER**

 **CHAPTER V**

 **Slipping**

* * *

Sirius poked his head in Harry's room. "Hey, Pup, can you come down to the kitchen for a minute? I need to talk to you and your mum."

"Be there is a sec," Harry agreed. He set his quill in the inkwell and carefully blew on his writing before setting the parchment away. It had taken him weeks to compose the words to his latest song and he thought he might finally have perfected it. He wouldn't have gone to the effort of a quill otherwise. He knew the guitar for it already. He just wished he had some way of incorporating drums and base and various other instruments to his work. But there was nothing for it. None of his friends sang or played an instrument, at least that they had said, so he was a one-man band and that's all there was to it.

He bounded into the kitchen a minute later. Mum, Sirius and Remus were already there. Flopping into a chair like only a soon-to-be teenager could, he asked, "What's up?"

Sirius took a breath and blew it out. "First, I just want to say I'm only doing this because I was asked. I'm not in support of it in any way, shape or form."

"Not a good beginning, Sirius," Remus observed. "Should I take this to mean I'll need to save your hide tonight? And if so, do you want me to stop Lils or Harry killing you first?"

"I'm actually planning to spill and apparate the hell out."

"That bad," Remus mused. "Should be entertaining, let's hear it."

"Come on, Flea bag," Mum said. "What have you done this time?"

" _I_ haven't done anything," Sirius protested. "I'm just the messenger."

"Sure, you are." Mum waved him on. "Come on, let's have it."

Sirius took a breath. "Ok, so you know I met with Anders Greengrass the other day, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, he had a second order of business he wanted to discuss that I figured didn't need to be heard by everyone else."

"Oh?" Mum asked.

"Now, keep in mind I'm _only_ the messenger and don't support this one, teensy, tiny, little bit. But, considering we appear to be gaining a powerful new ally, I felt I needed to at least go through the motions of broaching the topic."

"You're stalling, Sirius," Mum said.

"Groveling, more like," Remus observed. "I'm rather enjoying it."

"Spit it out already, Sirius," Harry said, "I wanna see what Mum does to you."

Sirius glowered at him. "Why I ever wanted to be your guardian," he muttered.

"Good thing you aren't then, isn't it?' Harry retorted.

"Boys," Mum said. "Enough." She shot a look at Remus. "All of you."

"Yes, Mum," all three parroted.

Mum rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "I swear, James."

"Hey," Sirius said brightly, "technically, James should have had to deal with this. So really, it's his fault. Blame him." Mum glared at him. "Right, sorry."

"The point of this conversation?" she pointedly demanded.

Sirius took a breath and vomited, "IwasaskedtopresenttheideaofabetrohalbetweenHarryandAstoriaGreengrass." He then he cringed from the expected explosion.

Once he'd assimilated what Sirius had said, Remus turned his attention to Lily. A number of emotions were flitting across her face before her eyes narrowed and her jaw took a familiar set. "Harry," she said slowly, "do you have anything you'd like to say regarding this proposal?" Remus was impressed. It wasn't Sirius' fault of course, and it really was just a question. But it was Harry, and Lily had a habit of not exactly seeing straight regarding her son. He turned to Harry. The expression on his face surprised him. He actually looked thoughtful.

Harry tipped his head slightly and drummed his fingers on the table. "Is she cute?" he asked.

Remus cocked his head. Sirius' brow furrowed. Lily exploded. "What? Absolutely not!"

Harry snorted and started laughing madly. "You–You're f–face," he gasped.

Remus' jaw dropped. Lily stared at Harry for a second. "Why you," she growled. Harry bolted. Lily ran after him. "Get back here, Buster."

"You're slipping, Mum," Harry chortled. "I can't believe you fell for that."

"I'll teach you!"

"Argh! Mum!" Harry laughed.

Remus slowly turned to Sirius. They both broke into grins. "So it appears I'm going to live," Sirius said.

"Surprisingly, yes."

"James is rolling over in his grave, isn't he?"

Remus snickered. "Probably set the whole thing up."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Harry climbed up in the hayloft. Ginny wasn't going to Daphne's today, but she'd disappeared after lunch. He'd hoped, with Luna's return – she and Hermione were with Mum, getting tutoring on some of the instruction they had both missed while petrified – that Ginny might start to improve a bit. That didn't seem the case as she remained as withdrawn as ever. Anyway, Harry could sit through only so many lectures on Banishing Charms so when he'd got up to get a drink he hadn't gone back. No doubt Hermione would give him hell for it. But honestly, they'd been performing Banishing Charms since last summer. He rather suspected Luna didn't need a refresher on the charm or theory either and that she was just humoring Hermione. Harry wasn't quite sure what to make of the two of them. He knew Hermione liked girls. She had told him years ago and he was fairly certain she liked Luna a lot. Maybe even as more than a friend. And he rather thought Luna might like Hermione as well – she _had_ seemed awful jealous when Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb (Fred and George) had been flirting with Hermione first-year. But that was a long time ago now and a lot of, well, to put it bluntly, shite had gone wrong. But then the two of them seemed to be getting on much closer to the way things had been before everything went to shite than he and Ginny were. It kind of pissed him off.

Harry found a spot near the big sliding door. With it being summer it was open to let in the breeze and Harry had always liked it up there. Something about the dusty air and the smell of the hay just felt good to him. He sat with his back against the edged of the door, one leg hanging out the opening the other bent up so he could rest his arms on it. Briefly his mind jumped from Ginny to the thought that if they had a pool this would be the perfect place to jump from. But soon enough it went back to his favorite redhead.

He frowned at that. Was Ginny really his favorite redhead? Well, he'd only ever seen his mum with red hair the very first week he was at the briar patch so he supposed it was ok that Ginny was his favorite redhead. At least he felt better if he told himself that. For Merlin's sake he'd barely done anything but fight with Ginny for the last year and this was his mum he was talking about. He'd kill for his mum…

Bugger, he _had_ killed for Ginny. He'd killed a troll, together they had killed their shade-of-Voldemort-possessed defense professor – though technically that hadn't been _for_ her – and he'd killed a basilisk and made it possible for Neville to destroy the diary. He shook his head. Did that last bit count? As it was a bit of someone's soul, he supposed so. Even if that someone was a sadistic bastard who made his uncle look like Dudley's favorite stuffed teddy. Harry sighed. Fine, Ginny was at least as important to him as his Mum. Which, as she would barely talk to him, was a bit of a pisser.

He really was trying to be patient and understand about her. He honestly wasn't sure what he'd do without Mrs Tonks guidance. The good thing was, Ginny wasn't really confiding in Mrs Tonks either. Everything Harry's favorite teacher was telling him was based on observation and intuition and she therefore held no qualms about betraying a confidence. Even so, it was like pulling dragons' teeth to drag things out of her. Why she couldn't just answer a simple question without turning it into a half hour lesson in introspection was beyond him. Of course it was keeping him sane regarding the situation so he couldn't really complain.

Basically, it came down to trust. Ginny's trust had been shattered. And it would take a long time for that to recover. After all, it had taken more than two years for him to trust his mum enough to tell her he loved her.

Ginny's situation wasn't all that different from his own. For him it was the prophecy and being marked for death. Among other things, it had cost him his father. For her it was being so powerful some arse had marked her as a baby factory. Her father had been murdered because of it. For him it was his aunt, who should have cared for him like he was her own but instead betrayed him. For Ginny it was the betrayal of her mother and a number of her brothers. And it all went back to the same arse-wipe.

Frankly, from all of that, to his vision of Ginny, to his animagus – he was certain she was the red wolf in his spirit realm and if she were to become an animagus herself it would be as that red wolf; he had never seen a female panther after all, to Moldyfart fucking with their lives, to the tingling they felt whenever they touched skin to skin, he felt they were meant to be together. And he didn't care what anyone said about the fact they were all of twelve. Because he was pretty sure, even though he hadn't been certain she was even real, that he'd known they were meant for each other from the moment he'd woken after his vision of her.

He'd asked Mum once if she thought she'd ever find someone again. She had said she was pretty certain his dad had ruined her for anyone else. Harry may have only been seven when he'd had that vision, but he kind of felt the same way. He'd been ruined for anyone else since. Sure he'd crushed on Tonks, and Gwen from Disney World, and Mrs Tonks, but that was all before he'd actually met Ginny. When she'd walked in his compartment on the train to school that first time it was like a piece of himself that had been missing suddenly slotted into place. Of course that piece had been sitting cockeyed for almost a year now. But there were a few times when it had slotted in properly. That week after he had forgiven her burning his gifts and before she saw him pull that bloody damn diary from his bag had been utter bliss.

Harry sighed, a wistful smile on his face. He really kind of liked the idea they were meant for each other. Hell, whether he believed in it or not, he _was_ a Child of Prophecy. Bloody hell, his life read like some epic saga! Aragon had Arwen; with all the hell he'd been through didn't Fate bloody well owe him the same? He sure thought so.

Harry's eyes snapped open. But was that the problem? Ginny seemed mostly fine with Luna. She was obviously getting on with Daphne. It seemed even Bill was breaking through. And Harry figured if he were Ginny, if there was one person he wouldn't be able to look in the eye it would be Bill. But for whatever reason she was withdrawing from him.

If there was one thing he'd learned about Ginny, it was that she was fiercely independent. _She_ and no one else was going to make the choices for her life. She had been on about burning the sorting hat enough for taking away her choice to be in Ravenclaw that Harry had begun to think it a bit unhealthy. But she had a point. If she didn't want to be the example of a pure-blood Slytherin witch who wasn't a racist bitch, then what right did a tatty old wizard's hat have to force her into it? And then her mother goes and casts a gazillion Compulsion Charms on her, and He-Who-Wanks-A-Lot forces her to open the Chamber of Secrets and set the basilisk on not just the school, but her friends! Her _will_ , her _choice_ had been taken from her. And Ginny was anything but stupid. She may have been missing a few of the signs he was, but she probably had the idea Fate said they were to be together as well. And having gone through everything she had…

"She resents the hell out of it," Harry said.

"Resents the hell out of what?"

Harry turned so quickly he put a crick in his neck. He also started a slow motion fall out the open door; it _was,_ after all, a precarious spot he had picked. He flailed his arm out but there wasn't anything to grab and he was too far gone to catch himself. _Bugger, this is going to hurt,_ he had time to think.

"Harry!" Ginny cried rushing to grab him. She hauled him back by a handful of his shirt and deposited him on his back in the hay. Harry cracked an eye open. He was surprisingly pain free. "Are you alright?" Ginny asked.

"Fine. Just maybe you could make a bit of noise next time you decide to sneak up on me."

"Sorry," she muttered sheepishly. "I didn't expect anyone to be up here."

"Well I was."

"I'll just go." She stood.

Harry grabbed her arm. "Ginny, wait. I'm sorry." Ginny seemed to cringe with the contact of his hand on her arm so he let go. "Sorry," he said. "Go on. I know you don't want to be around me."

"Harry I—"

"No," he cut her off. "I get it. Really, I do. I don't want you to stay unless you want to."

Ginny studied him a second. "What did you mean; when you said she resents it, who were you talking about?"

Harry held her eyes before drawing a slow breath. "This girl I know. I think all her life people have tried to control her. And now she thinks she doesn't have a choice.

Ginny frowned slightly. "Doesn't have a choice about what?"

"Anything. Everything." Harry shrugged.

Ginny held his eyes. "What about Fate?"

Harry edged a half step closer to her. He had obviously been right about what she was thinking. "Fuck, Fate."

Ginny raised her chin slightly. "Says the Child of Prophecy."

"I'm not going to fight him because of what some two bit quack who was probably drunk off her arse might have said. I'm fighting him because he killed my dad, and because of what he did to my mum, and because it seems pretty apparent he won't leave me alone… But never because it's my bloody fate."

"Sounds like a convenient excuse to fulfill your destiny to me."

"Believe what you want," Harry retorted. "I say choice matters. I could just as easily run and hide somewhere. I promise you, I'd be dead of old age long before he found me. It's my choice to stay here and fight him." Ginny continued to hold his eyes till Harry stepped to go past her. He stopped just past her shoulder. "This girl, if you see her, tell her I will _never_ take her choice away." He waited a half beat before leaving her there.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

"Ah, Sirius," Anders greeted him warmly. "I am pleased to see you again."

"And I you my friend." He shook hands with the other man.

"Join me in my guilt?" Anders asked, waving him towards the same sitting area. Another decanter of Goblin Whiskey – this one with a slight green hue to it – beaconed them.

Sirius grinned. "Love to. Though I'll need to host you the next time we meet. After all, it wouldn't be right of me to deplete your stocks without affording you the opportunity to return the crime."

Anders chuckled. "A crime I shall be most pleased to commit, my friend." He poured for them and picked up his glass. "Your health."

Sirius bumped his glass with the other. "And yours." They both drank and settled in.

"As you had some concern for your person when last we spoke I am pleased to see you in one piece."

Sirius chuckled. "Yes, well, I may have been overly dramatic in my concerns. Though it is also possible I am simply in the waiting period before Harry decides just what retribution he wishes to visit upon me." He focused intently on the other man. "I am afraid I do not bring you good news in this. Harry has made clear to me that _he_ will pick his future wife and he has no need of any help from me in that regard." He pulled the photograph Anders had given him from his pocket and handed it back to him. "She is a lovely looking girl."

Anders took the photograph from him. "And he will not consent to even a meeting between them?"

Sirius continued to hold the other man's eyes. "Harry is not known for his tact. He makes an art of speaking respectful words while intimating the exact opposite. To paraphrase, he said, as he was somewhat friendly with Daphne he was certain he would meet Astoria when term started and you'd have done better to not involve yourself."

"And you allow this sort of behavior of your ward?" Anders asked.

Sirius waited a second before replying. "Anders, will you allow me to give you a bit of, if not advice, at least insight?"

Anders inclined his head slightly. "It would appear I am entering a world for which I do not know the proper protocols, so please."

"Your professed desire to declare to the Light is greatly welcomed. But families like the Potters, Weasleys, even the Longbottoms to an extent, families that have been labeled as blood traitors, largely gave up the old ways long ago. Certainly some things remain. Family duty was something Harry's father was quite proud to carry on. James very much looked forward to joining his father in building a legacy of change to the wizarding world. But James' father encouraged him to speak his mind from an early age and he wouldn't have dared to pick his son's bride. Frankly, Euphemia would have skinned him alive. By law James was considered a pure-blood. But the circumstances of that were purely coincidence, and he married a Muggle-born girl. Fleamont and Euphemia adored Lily and were only too happy to welcome her into the family. Harry would happily meet and, perhaps, someday marry Astoria if he loved her. But the strength of her magic, the supposed benefit to both families, or the potential lordships to his future children would never be of importance to him. He would happily marry a Muggle girl without even considering those things."

Anders frowned slightly. "It would appear I should have listened to my daughter then."

"How so?"

"Daphne was most displeased with me for suggesting a betrothal between Harry and Astoria. She went so far as to say you warned against it and suggested I contact you and tell you I had reconsidered. My wife, in an attempt to smooth things over between us, was brought to the understanding I was making a mistake and suggested we might be wise to heed her warning."

"Your daughter sounds like she has quite the head on her shoulders."

"Indeed," Anders agreed. "I shall have to think on these things. I thank you for your counsel."

Sirius smiled. "You'd be one of the first, but I am glad to be of service to you. And I would say not all is lost. Harry and Astoria _will_ meet. If they are meant to be, then it will happen."

Anders sipped from his glass, nodding slowly, before he set it aside and reached for a large tome set on the side table. "I believe I mentioned sharing my research on the affects of Dark Magic and inbreeding amongst our lines." He set the tome on the table between he and Sirius and flipped it open. "You are free to take this for further study, but there are a few things I wish to show you. First, my own line. You can see a rather steady decline in RoM levels culminating in a sharp decline with my great-grandfather. This is followed by a steady recovery coinciding with our rejection of Dark Magic and a diversification of our bloodline outside of the Sacred Twenty-Eight."

Sirius nodded slowly. "Most interesting."

Anders flipped to a new section and traced his finger down the page. "The Parkinsons." He flipped to another section. "Nott." Another section. "Goyle… Crabbe… Bulstrode… Malfoy. I could go on but there is little point." He closed the tome. "My great-great-grandfather represented the point of our family's deepest plunge into Dark Magic. I admit we were the worst of the worst and Magic made us pay for it. The decline in our magic was at its lowest with his son. It is happening across the board. Even families of the Light are suffering. Ginevra Weasley is the seventh child of a seventh child, the first girl in seven generations of first-born sons, yet, unless my information is wrong, she is only 73rd percentile."

"You're telling me their lines are going to fail, yes?" As stated before, Sirius was well aware of these conclusions. The research would need to be verified. And, in some instances corrected, but Anders had a long way to go to earn his trust in that regard so he certainly wasn't going to comment on it. Though he would need to find some way of thanking the man for narrowing the search for just which son-of-a-bitch was after Ginny.

"I believe so, yes," Anders said. He reached for a different, smaller tome and passed it to Sirius. "Go on," he said.

Sirius flipped the tome open and immediately stilled. Anders said nothing while he quietly flipped through the pages. Once he reached the inevitable end he closed the tome and set it on the table between them. He remained focused on the tome for a few seconds before he decided it was time to quit playing games with Anders and find out just how committed he was to this course of action. He pushed the tome across the table with his finger and focused on Anders. "I don't suppose," he said, "you would care to tell me what, exactly, allowed you to defy Tom Riddle?"

Anders returned his gaze steadily. "Perhaps," he offered, "we should continue this conversation in my study?"

Sirius set his glass down. "I insist."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

"Neville!" Hermione cried when the boy slid out of the floo at the Briar Patch. She grabbed him in a tight hug. "Oh, it's so good to see you."

"Urgulch," Neville choked. "Hermione. Can't. Breathe."

"Sorry," Hermione said, relaxing her hold a bit, but not looking sorry at all. "I'm just so happy to see you."

Neville returned her hug. "I'm happy to see you as well. You're doing b–better?"

"I'm getting there," Hermione answered. She let him go only for Luna to step in and hug him tightly as well.

"Hello, Neville. You're looking well. And I see you've managed to avoid any Besotting Plimpers. As Hermione is covered in their bites, that is good."

Neville awkwardly returned her hug. "Erm, right. It's good to see you as well, Luna." He let her go, turned to Harry and stuck his hand out.

Harry used it to pull him into a back thumping hug. "Mate," he said.

"Erm, yeah," Neville said.

Harry let him go. "Come on, Mate," he punched him in the shoulder, "we're brothers now, yeah?"

Neville stared at him a second before he slowly started to grin. "Yeah," he agreed. He slugged Harry in the shoulder. "Good to see you, Bro."

Harry laughed. "Cool."

Neville turned to Ginny. "Hi, Ginny."

"Hello, Neville," she said. "It's good to see you."

Neville hesitated for a second but stepped to her and gave her a quick hug. "It is good to see you," he said, and let her go.

Ginny stiffened, and tried to smile when he backed away, but it was clear she was uncomfortable. Luna grabbed her hand. "Well, now we're all here, and no one is suffering a nargle infestation, should we get started?"

"You have been keeping up with your training, yeah?" Harry asked.

"And have y–you making me puke my guts out, you b–better believe I have."

"Bril," Harry said. "Come on." He led them out the door and broke into a jog. Mr Granger had helped him map out a training schedule. His pace was slow, and his leg ached something fierce. The basilisk poison and three weeks spent bedridden had destroyed any strength his body had built over the previous four years. The only thing left was his force of will. It had seen him through to the full two miles that was yesterday's goal. Today was an _easy_ day. There was no increase in distance, no attempt to run faster, he wasn't to practice judo and kickboxing for a longer time and he wasn't to do any more press-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups or anything else. All he was to do was repeat yesterday… He was going to get through it if it killed him.

Tonks slipped in the door and made her way to the office. Director Bones had approached her just before Harry and the rest had left school for the year. She had needed someone who could _blend_ and provide surveillance over the summer for Harry and his friends. Who better than a metamorphmagus? It wouldn't interfere with her auror training and would fit in perfectly with her needs for physical training. It was easy enough to apparate to Bourton for her workout. She was going to the dojo for daily practice already so she just timed it so she was near the Briar Patch when the kiddies would set out on their winding route to David Granger's dojo. It was her job to see them delivered safely. It had about killed her, that first day, watching Harry retch after little more than a quarter mile. She knew just how strong Harry had been. Hermione was little better. Being petrified for months wasn't good for one's level of fitness. "Hey coach," she said, moving to stand next to Hermione's father. He was observing the four teens through the window as they went through the conditioning sequences. She stood next to him and watched for a few minutes. "They're getting better, yeah?" she asked. He grunted. She glanced at him. "You alright?"

"He's a born leader." Tonks turned back to watching the kiddies. "Look at him, he can barely pick his head up but they're all following him."

"He's pretty unbelievable," she agreed.

"When did I agree to turn my children into warriors?" Tonks turned back to him. "It was a rhetorical question, Tonks. I recognize the necessity of the situation."

Tonks turned back to watching Harry and the others. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

"So am I," he sighed. "So am I."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Anders closed the door of his study, drew his wand and cast a number of privacy spells. Sirius quirked a brow. "Daphne is a well behaved child. But her desires to know the machinations of her father are sometimes counter to her wellbeing." While he was speaking he moved to the wall where he placed his hand flat against it. A section of paneling glowed brightly for a second before springing open to reveal a small cubby hidden in the wall."

"And Astoria?" Sirius asked? He said nothing about the safe. That Anders was allowing him to know the location of it was another sign he was being dealt with honestly.

"Is younger and less interested in the boring games her father plays."

Sirius nodded. "Understandable."

Anders took a small tome from the safe and moved to his desk. He set the tome down. Other than its obvious age, it was nondescript; flaking gold lettering on cracked red leather and yellowed parchment pages between. It could have been any one of hundreds of books in the library of his ancestral home. "This," Anders said softly, "is the Rauðskinna."

Sirius stared at him, then the book, then back to Anders. " _He_ knew you had this?" Sirius croaked.

"He believed I had items in my possession that could bring about his downfall. I did not disabuse him of that belief. I agreed to do nothing to stop him. He agreed to leave my family be. Despite the need to protect my daughter I fear I made the wrong choice."

Sirius swallowed. "And is there, anything in there that would have stopped him?"

"Perhaps… Have you ever heard the term, Horcrux?"

Sirius stared back at the other man. "Do you have plans for tomorrow?"

Anders pushed the Rauðskinna towards Sirius. "I believe," he said, " that I am doing whatever you ask of me.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's notes:

Standard disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR. Except where I might use some song lyrics which I will call out at the time and give proper credit. Thank you JKR for letting us play with your toys.

I will continue to use the occasional song lyric in the story and will give credit at the time when needed.

This is the fourth book in my Slytherin Harry series. And I'm departing from reusing JKR's title because too much of the story has changed. I'll leave it up to all of you to decide just who the Blood Traitor's Daughter is. In my mind there is more than one candidate.

Book 1: Harry Potter and the Muggle's Daughter

Book 2: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Book 3: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Book 4: Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor's Daughter.

If you haven't read books 1-3 you won't know what's going on. But the bonus is you've got three completed books before you even get to this one!

And last, the disappointing bits.

First, because the site gives me such difficulty uploading, I've adjusted my writing to make things easier and made chapters generally shorter than in the past I try to keep things at about 5000 words because it just works best.

Second, to ensure I keep the production of new material ahead of the pace of my posting I'm afraid I have to go to every other week. I'm sorry, but I'm doing the best I can.

* * *

 **HARRY POTTER AND THE BLOOD TRAITOR'S DAUGHTER**

 **CHAPTER V**

 **The Order of the Serpent**

* * *

"The what?" Mali asked, staring at the red-leather covered tome.

"The Rauðskinna," Anders repeated softly.

His voice low, Bill said to Sirius. "Now I know why you didn't want to meet at the house."

"Will someone explain what it is?" David asked.

"Rauðskinna means Red Skin in Icelandic," Lily said. "It is also known as The Book of Power. It is the life work of Gottskalk Nikulausson, a Christian bishop in the Middle Ages who was more interested in Dark Magic than his position in the church would indicate. The book was believed to contain spells of the darkest magic imaginable; horrible and powerful enough that they would allow the _good_ bishop to control Satan himself. You were very wise to insist on having this meeting away from the house. Never mind the book itself, I don't even want its name spoken in my home."

"A very wise decision, indeed," Anders agreed.

"And why is that?" Mali asked. "You've obviously had it in your home."

"I have," he acknowledged. "It has been in my home, my vault, it has even been hidden in a doghouse in the middle of a Scottish moor behind the Fidelius Charm. Yet from the moment it came into the possession of my great-great-grandfather, rumors of the Greengrass family being in possession of a most powerful and dangerous artifact have flourished."

"Rumors of your family being in possession of dark artifacts have existed for far longer than that, Anders," Amelia observed.

"True," Anders agreed. "But these rumors were different. The undercurrent of fear and malevolence they brought was more intense. And since the tome came into our possession, in less than one hundred-fifty years, there have been thirteen attempts to break into our home. In the thousand years prior, there were twelve."

"Magic _is_ life, my friend," Lily said. "That book was supposed to have been buried with its maker. The fact it isn't speaks to its influence on others. I assume you had it behind special wards?" she asked.

"My father constructed a class eight containment vessel and had it concealed within the wall of his study. That seems to have dampened the tome's influence. There has not been an attempt to break into our home since before the fall of the Dark Lord."

"Class eight, you say?" Bill asked.

"Yes."

"That's impressive. Half of the pharos didn't even have that on their tombs."

"And still it is not enough. Though I must admit to being glad of the rumors. They allowed me to keep the Dark Lord away from my family despite my refusal to fully support him during the war."

"And what will you do when he comes back and finds you have declared to the Light?" Amelia asked.

"As I told Sirius. I wished to do more during the war but did not out of fear for my daughter. I have often wondered if I made the correct choice. The Flints and Greengrasses are now fully committed to the Light. Truthfully, my future son-in-law has chaffed under my caution. If, as I believe, the Dark Lord has fashioned a Horcrux, there can be no hope for neutrality. Unless he is stopped, his lust for power will never be quenched. An inevitable fall into madness will follow, leaving the entire world in ashes."

"May I ask if there is anything in that book that will help us find and destroy Voldemort's Horcrux?" Remus asked.

Anders shook his head. "Destroy it yes. Find it, no."

"And without the destruction of the Horcrux there is nothing in there that would allow us to destroy Voldemort?"

"That would negate the point of the Horcrux itself. The primary soul fragment cannot be sent on till after the secondary fragment."

The others exchanged looks. "I'm good if you are," Amelia said to Lily.

Lily drummed her fingers on the table. "Lord Greengrass," she asked, "why did you approach Sirius? Why not someone like Dumbledore or Director Bones?"

"Director Bones would be a logical choice, but I feared our history would make it very difficult to convince her my intent was true. I have watched Severus Snape carefully for many years. Whatever his true loyalties are, the patronage of Albus Dumbledore comes with a high price. There is also the divide between Lord Black and Albus Dumbledore. This is curious to me when any student of history should be able to see that if the Dark Lord truly returns, his attention will be focused squarely on Lord Black's ward, Harry Potter. Albus Dumbledore should be in the confidence of Lord Black, but unless they are both perpetrating a great act this is obviously not the case. Last, I felt Sirius, having broken from his past, would give me a chance."

"I see. And how do you find your situation to be now you have earned Sirius' trust?"

"Dark, my Lady," he deadpanned. "I find my situation to be rather dark."

The comment earned him soft chuckles all around. "Yes," Lily said sardonically, "I imagine you do, my Lord. Perhaps a better question would be where would you see yourself going from here? Would you simply wish to continue to pass information between yourself and Sirius, or would you wish to join us fully?"

"While tonight's events have been somewhat unnerving, should you be willing to have me, it is my intention to fully join you."

"And are you willing to make a Sorcerer's Vow on penalty of your magic to that effect?" He hesitated. "Should you ever desire to end your affiliation with us you will be allowed to do so. However, unless I release you, you will never be allowed to reveal the secrets you will learn."

"How will this vow be accomplished?"

"You will sign our charter."

"I will sign this in blood?"

"Yes."

"Then, if possible, I would see the document before making my final decision."

"Very well. Sirius, take him in the other room and let him read it. If he signs, then we'll speak with him again."

"Right," Sirius agreed. "This way, please." He gently took Anders arm and guided him from the room. "You can take the sack off now," he said when the door was closed.

Relieved, Anders reached up and pulled the black sack from his head. Ten minutes later he set the blood quill aside. "Now what?"

"Now you meet the boss," Sirius said. He motioned Anders to follow him again. It was just across the hall and they were very quickly in the parlour once more. The others turned as they came in.

Anders swiftly catalogued them. He paused only slightly at the sight of Amelia Bones. Her presence was shocking, but also served to confirm he'd made the right decision. Next to her was a long lost friend he recognized easily enough. Andromeda Tonks (née Black). He guessed the man next to her was her husband. Theodore, he believed. Though they had never officially met, he knew the man was Muggle-born and had been a few years ahead of him at school. Next to them stood a woman of below average height with short, spiky, pink hair, bright enough it burnt his eyes to look at her; their daughter, Nymphadora, a metamorphmagus and auror cadet. Next to them were a man of African decent and a woman of Indian. He did not recognize either of them. A tall, solidly built man with long red hair tied back in a ponytail took him a second to put a name to but he quickly placed him as a son of Arthur Weasley; and by his wife's description as William. From Daphne he knew he was a former Gringotts' curse-breaker – he must have been the one to make mention of the pharos. William now worked for the ministry, but he was unsure of which department. Next to William was another man he didn't know. His hair was sandy-brown and his face was quite scared. Beside him was a woman; perhaps an inch or so taller than average. She had thick, long black hair and the most stunning green eyes he'd ever seen.

He cocked his head slightly while she stared back. The woman had a powerful presence about her. Her chin rose slightly and those eyes flashed. He blinked. It couldn't be, could it? He'd never met Harry Potter, but he'd asked both Daphne and Marcus about him. They both said he had a presence about him; something intangible that made him seem far more formidable than a normal boy of his age should have been. And they had both commented on the intensity of his emerald-green eyes; eyes you would do well to avoid have turned on you in anger. Anders rather felt the same looking at this woman. He was certain of one thing; to cross her, would be a very poor decision. He straightened regally before inclining his head. "Lady Potter," he said formally. She offered her hand and he took it, raising it to his lips.

"Welcome, Lord Greengrass," she said, "to the Order of the Serpent."

Much later that night Anders joined his wife in their bedroom. She was at her dressing table brushing out her long strawberry-blonde hair. "Well?" she asked.

"I have achieved what we set out to do," he answered.

She eyed him. "And you can tell me no more?"

"I have made a Sorcerer's Vow. Unless you wish to do the same, I cannot."

"A Sorcerer's Vow?" she hissed.

"Yes."

Adrianna Greengrass knew her husband well. This was more than expected, but he would not have done so without feeling the price was justified. She let out a slow breath. "You made the right decision, doing this?"

"I did."

"What would you have me do?"

"Love me," he answered. "Love our daughters."

She stood and crossed to him. Wrapping her arms around his neck she kissed him. "Foolish boy," she gently teased, "that is given." He bowed his head against hers. "There is truly nothing at all you can tell me?"

He closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. "Only that things are both far better and far worse than I feared." He pulled her close, tucking her head under his chin. "You must prepare," he said intensely. "You must be ready to take our daughters and run at a moment's notice. Use whatever funds you need but pay in gold from your hand; do not charge anything back to the accounts and tell me nothing of what you arrange."

She pushed back from him. "It is truly that bad?"

"There is time yet. How much time, I do not know. It could be years. It could be tonight… And, it is possible it may never come."

"And how are you to follow if I am to tell you nothing?"

"If it comes to this, I will stay till the bitter end; whatever that may be. If you are forced to leave, you will only see me again should we be victorious. Do not return unless that is ascertained." She stared up into his eyes. "Please, Adrianna," he pleaded, "swear to me you will do as I ask?"

She stretched up and gently brushed her lips against his. "I will be ready."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

"Hey, Mum," Harry said as she walked in the kitchen.

"Meh," she grunted. Harry glanced at Remus. The older wizard smirked at him. His mum was not a morning person. She poured a cup of coffee from the pot and sat at the table. Holding the cup under her nose she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply before taking a sip. It was then that her eyes snapped open. She blinked a number of times, like something had just registered, before she focused on Harry.

"What?" Harry asked.

Mum set her cup down, sloshing it in her rush to haul him into her arms. "You did it!" she exclaimed. She pushed him back. "You did do it, right?" Harry closed his eyes and concentrated as hard as he could. It was nowhere near what Tonks could do, but his hair slowly changed from blue to his natural black. It shortened as well, changing to almost shaved on the sides with a longer bit on the top. "Baby, that's brilliant!"

"Muuumm," Harry whinged.

She ignored him. "What else can you do? Can you make it other colours?"

"Right now I can only do the blue and change the length. It's really hard though, way harder than even my animagus."

"But that's easy for you now. This will get easier too."

"Maybe," Harry hedged. "It's hard to explain, but this is just harder. I always felt like my body wanted to change to the wolf. I just needed to figure out how to make it do it. This kind of feels like it doesn't want to change but I can force it to. The colour is way harder than the length. But even that's hard."

Mum tipped her head. "But you've always changed it," she mused, more to herself than him. "It could be that it settles in naturally at what he really wants it to be and adjusts over time as his perception of himself changes."

Harry snapped his fingers in her face. "Hello, _he's_ still here."

"Oh, sorry." She grinned at him. "It really is brilliant. I'm proud of you, Baby."

Harry sighed disgustedly. "If I'd known you'd end up calling me that, I'd never have done it."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Luna glanced up as Ginevra packed her things away. They were in Lily's potion lab in the barn. Harry's mum was desperately trying to make up for another year of Snape's poor instruction. Even though she and Hermione had spent a good part of the year petrified and not attending classes, they were hardly worse off than Harry and Ginevra who had attended classes right up till Ginevra first fell into a coma. It was funny listening to Lily curse the man every time something new he hadn't told them was revealed. It certainly explained Harry's potty mouth.

"You should invite, Daphne to study with us," Luna said.

Ginny stilled. "Sorry?"

Luna either didn't hear her question or ignored it altogether. "I'm certain she is as befuddled by professor Snape's appalling lack of teaching ability as we are." Ginny just stared at her. "Well it would be the friendly thing to do," Luna said. She placed a handful of lacewing flies in her cauldron. "We'll have grilled salmon and salad for lunch. I think she'll like that."

"B–but—"

"I'm certain Lily would allow her to join us," Luna cut off her protest about Daphne not being able to enter the Fidelius protected barn.

Ginny glanced at the others. Hermione was watching the exchange intently while Harry was just as intent in not watching. Neville was somewhere between the two. Lily smiled at her. "She would need permission from her parents, but I believe whether she joins you or not should be a decision made between the five of you."

That got Harry's attention. "What?"

"The Order of the Serpent has two elements, Harry. If you five are to bring new people into that, then I believe you should be the ones to make that decision. That is what you are suggesting, Luna, yes?"

"Oh yes, I think she would make a lovely addition." Luna leaned over her cauldron, eyeing it critically. "Does anyone else feel chartreuse resembles baby poo?"

Harry, Hermione and Neville all glanced at their cauldrons. "Eww," Hermione said.

"And I'm supposed to drink that?" Harry muttered. "Thanks a lot, Luna."

"You're quite welcome, Harry." She stuck her finger in the concoction and then stuck it in her mouth. She grimaced. "Disgusting."

"Would you knock it off," Ginny snapped.

Luna glanced at her. "Me?"

"Yes, you."

"Why, have I done something?" Luna asked innocently. Ginny glowered at her.

"Ahem," Mum said. "We were discussing Daphne."

"I don't think we can trust her," Hermione said.

"Your jealousy is showing, Hermione," Luna countered.

Hermione's jaw dropped. "I am not jealous," she spluttered.

"You're not?" Luna asked. "Huh, who knew?"

"Neville," Mum asked, "do you have an opinion?"

"M–me – me?"

Mum smiled at him. "Of course you. You are part of this group, are you not? Nor do I see anyone else around who answers to the name Neville."

"Oh," Luna said, "I shall if you like." She deepened her voice. "I agree. Daphne would be a good addition. She's also very pretty."

Harry snorted. "Brilliant… Insane… But brilliant."

Hermione smacked him. "Luna, that's not funny!"

Luna shrugged. "Maybe. But it's now two votes to one."

"It is not!"

"Luna," Mum said, "I'm afraid that is not the way it works."

"No?" Luna looked at her hopefully.

"No."

"Drat." Trying not to laugh, Harry bent over and slowly beat his head on the table. "Harry," Luna began.

Mum put her hand over her mouth. "Shush." Luna subsided and Mum turned to Neville again. "Well?"

"I – I don't know h-her very well," he stammered.

"So, no. At least for now?"

Neville glanced at the others, settling on Ginny. "I–I'm sorry." She said nothing.

"Harry?" Mum asked.

Harry sat up. "I trust Ginny." Hermione huffed. "If she agrees with Luna and wants to ask Daphne if she'd like to join us, then I trust her judgment."

Mum held his eyes for a second before turning to Ginny. "And you?"

Ginny's eyes darted between the others. "I need to think about it."

"You need to think about it?" Hermione snapped. "She's your friend and you don't know if you can trust her?"

"That," Mum said sharply, "will be enough, Hermione." Hermione pressed her lips into a thin line and crossed her arms angrily. Mum remained focused on Ginny. "We shall await your decision then, Ginny."

Ginny shot a look at Hermione. "Fine," she said before turning to go.

Harry waited till she was out the door before going after her. "Thanks a lot, Hermione," he hissed, shoving her in the back of the head on his way past. "Ginny wait!" he called, hurrying to catch her.

She stopped and turned back. "You don't need to apologize for Hermione, Harry."

"I'm not. I just… look, I trust you, alright? Just don't do something because Hermione or Luna pushed you into it."

"And you? Should I do something because you pushed me into it?"

Harry stared back at her for a second before sighing. "Just go, Ginny," he said disgustedly and walked away. He ignored her calling after him.

Ginny ran and caught his arm. "Harry, stop!"

"What?" he rounded on her.

"I'm sorry."

Harry's cheek twitched. "Thanks." They continued to watch each other. "You better go. I'm sure you're late by now."

"I…" she began.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he said and walked away again. This time she didn't run after him.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Harry climbed to the loft and made his way around the hay bales to his spot. He was a bit surprised to see Ginny there. She didn't appear to have noticed him. He thought about leaving but decided he was going to push his luck instead and went and flopped down opposite her. "Hey," he said. She said nothing. "Anything with your, mum?" he tried.

She glared at him. "My mother is dead to me."

Harry nodded. "Don't blame you." She huffed angrily and stared out the open door. "It's alright to be angry, you know."

"I'm not angry," she snapped. "I bloody well hate her."

"Hate is ok too. As long as it doesn't consume you."

"What are you," she demanded, "Mrs Tonks now?"

Harry shrugged. "Well, she sure said it to me often enough."

"You know, whatever your aunt did to you isn't the same as what happened to me. You have your mum. She adores you. So quit trying to pretend you understand!"

Harry scowled, forcing his temper down. "I'll just go." He stood.

"You do that."

And Harry lost it. He rounded on her. "You're right. I don't understand. But at least your mum never _wanted_ you dead. And at least you can sleep at night with the thought that if she'd known what the diary was, or what it was doing to her, she would never have given it to you." He pulled his shirt off, triggered the release on his wand and tapped it over his shoulder. The glamour charms covering his scars ended and he turned so she could see. "So don't go pretending you understand my uncle tried to kill me. Or that my aunt cared enough to do anything about the fact I was whipped with a leather strap soaked in poison. Or that the only reason I'm not dead is because I was so desperate for the pain to go away I let a bloody adder bite me when she told me she could help me!" He turned to face her. "Don't pretend you know anything about what it's like to be starved for days on end; I think the record was five. Or to be locked in a cupboard under the stairs for so long you have no choice but to literally hold yourself so you don't pee on your mattress because if you do, guess what, you'll be sleeping in it. And even when it dries it'll stink for months. Maybe you'd like to compare how many times your bones were broken or your head was slammed into the wall so hard the plaster broke. Here's one for you, did you know I thought my name was 'Boy' till I was five? So go on, tell me how miserable it was growing up with your mum and dad and brothers; especially Bill. Tell me how miserable that was." Ginny stared at him, her face ashen. "Go on," he demanded, "tell me."

"I'm sorry," she croaked.

Harry's cheek twitched. "I invited Daphne to come to the amusement park," he said. Ginny blinked dazedly. "Most of the rides, you go in pairs. Now there's six of us so no one has to ride alone."

"A–Alright," she agreed.

"Good," he said and left.

Stalking across the back garden to the house Harry entered the kitchen and slammed the door so hard his magic blasted it from the hinges twenty feet into the garden. He stormed through the kitchen down the hall and up the stairs to his room. Only the fact Remus had magically reinforced _that_ door saved _it_ being blasted across the hall. "AAARRRGGGH!"

Lily, Malala, Mrs Tonks, Hermione and Luna were having tea in the parlour when the house was rocked by what sounded like an explosion. They were halfway out of the room when Harry went past like an angry thunderstorm. Remus burst out of the basement with his wand drawn just as Harry slammed the door of his room. His eyes darted to the celling with Harry's scream of frustration. He turned his attention to the five women. "Harry?" he asked.

Lily scowled. "Indeed," Andromeda answered.

"I fear the lubdubbers Ginevra is leaking may have landed on Harry," Luna said.

"The what?" Mali asked.

"Lubdubbers," Luna said. "They're ingested through improperly cooked cabbage and when they leak out through the skin they cause us to hurt those we love most."

The others stared at her for a moment with Remus giving a painful shake of his head. "How very astute of you, dear," Mrs Tonks agreed. "Come let's finish our tea."

"Shouldn't we check on him?" Hermione asked. Her mum, Lily and Mrs Tonks all raised a brow at her. "Right," Hermione agreed, "best to let him cool off a bit."

"I'll see what I can do about the door," Remus said.

About ten minutes later the sound of Harry playing guitar filled the room.

"Oh," Luna said happily, "I haven't heard him play since he broke his guitar at Christmas. Her eyes lit up. "Do you think he'll sing? I haven't heard him sing since he serenaded the cerberus." Harry obliged her.

"Didn't I make you feel like you were the only woman, yeah,

An' didn't I give you nearly everything that a man possibly can?"

"I don't know this. Is it Muggle, or did he write it?" Luna asked.

"Shush," the others hissed.

"Right, sorry." With Luna quiet they just sat and listened.

Remus wandered in about halfway through the song and sat on the arm of Lily's chair. When the song was over they continued to sit in silence for another few moments. "How old is that kid?" Remus asked.

"Not old enough," Lily muttered.

"Oh no," Luna said. "You're wrong, Lily. Harry's very old. He and Ginevra are much older than even you. They might be older even than Kai." Lily pressed her lips into a thin line.

"Luna," Mrs Tonks said.

"Yes?"

"Shush."

"Oh, sorry."

"It's fine, Luv."

Later that night, Harry was in his room at his desk. He'd just set his quill aside and picked up his guitar when a tapping at his window got his attention. He glanced up, startled to see Ma'at, Bill's owl on the sill. He set his guitar down and heaved himself from the bed to let her in. "Hey, girl," he greeted her. He scratched at her neck for a few seconds and she happily leaned into his ministrations before sticking her leg out to him. Harry untied the letter. "I'm sorry, I don't have anything here for you, but if you go down to the kitchen I'm sure Mum or Remus will find you something." Ma'at just hooted and took wing out towards the barn. "Or not," Harry muttered. "Won't be the first girl I pissed off today."

Harry turned the letter over, wondering just why Bill would have written him. He paused though with the looping scrawl of his name. That was Ginny's writing. Harry turned the letter over a number of times. He'd spent all of last summer desperate to get a letter from her. This summer he finally had one and he was not at all eager to find out why. He took a deep breath and broke the seal. Bracing himself he started to read.

 _Harry,_

 _Remember that girl you asked me to pass along a message to earlier this summer?_

 _Well, I saw her tonight and I told her what you said. I also told her she was an idiot of the worst sort. She wasn't too pleased with me. But she did ask me to pass a message back to you. She says she's sorry she's such a mess right now and that she is trying very hard but it's the hardest thing she's ever done, and even though she may not deserve it she just needs people to be patient and that no matter what she could never hate you and hurting you is the last thing she wants to do._

 _She really is a mess, Harry. Honestly, I don't know why you bother. You could do far better._

 _Ginny._

Harry read the letter through twice more before carefully setting it on his desk. For another few minutes he sat and contemplated it before he reached for a pen. It was with a newly determined heart he started writing. It was just like Mrs Tonks said. _His_ Ginny was still there. He would just need to be patient; more patient than he'd ever been in his life.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Author's notes:

The song Harry sings in this chapter is a slightly modified version of 'Piece of my Heart'. My research finds it was written by, Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns and first recorded by Erma Franklin in 1967.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's notes:

Standard disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR. Except where I might use some song lyrics which I will call out at the time and give proper credit. Thank you JKR for letting us play with your toys.

I will continue to use the occasional song lyric in the story and will give credit at the time when needed.

This is the fourth book in my Slytherin Harry series. And I'm departing from reusing JKR's title because too much of the story has changed. I'll leave it up to all of you to decide just who the Blood Traitor's Daughter is. In my mind there is more than one candidate.

Book 1: Harry Potter and the Muggle's Daughter

Book 2: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Book 3: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Book 4: Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor's Daughter.

If you haven't read books 1-3 you won't know what's going on. But the bonus is you've got three completed books before you even get to this one!

And last, the disappointing bits.

First, because the site gives me such difficulty uploading, I've adjusted my writing to make things easier and made chapters generally shorter than in the past I try to keep things at about 5000 words because it just works best.

Second, to ensure I keep the production of new material ahead of the pace of my posting I'm afraid I have to go to every other week. I'm sorry, but I'm doing the best I can.

* * *

 **HARRY POTTER AND THE BLOOD TRAITOR'S DAUGHTER**

 **CHAPTER VII**

 **Illusion**

* * *

Harry celebrated the day before his birthday by completing his first three-mile run of the summer. It was slow as sin; near thirty-four minutes, but he'd finished. He was slowly getting stronger. He could do press-ups and sit-ups and pull-ups again, though nowhere near the hundreds he'd been able to do before being bitten. He was regaining his skill and timing at judo, though Hermione was back to whipping him soundly. It really irked him that she was regaining her strength more quickly. But, as his mum kept reminding him, she had only been petrified. He had been poisoned with one of the most toxic substances in the world and had hovered near death for days while the venom of the basilisk warred with that of Kaa. And it was only because of Kaa's venom coursing in his veins and the protection it afforded him that he had survived. Ultimately he'd be stronger for it, but his body had been taxed to its absolute limits and it was just a long, slow, recovery.

But those were concerns for another day. Right now he, Hermione, Luna and Ginny – things were still tense between the two of them since he'd gone off on her and she had sent her letter, but it was a different kind of tense; she almost seemed to appreciate that he wouldn't just roll over and treat her with kid gloves – were due to leave for the Longbottom residence for Neville's birthday in ten minutes. Harry just hoped his friend would like his gift.

A reluctant agreement had been made for Harry to receive 70% of the proceeds from the sale of the various basilisk parts while the school retained the other 30%. Professor McGonagall _had_ been directly involved in bringing about the beast's demise and Sirius had given up his protests that Harry should get all the proceeds when it was promised the funds would go to the Muggle-born scholarship fund. Harry had kept the entirety of his portion of the hide and was planning to eventually have it made into cloaks for himself and his friends. He just wanted to wait till they were near grown so that they wouldn't outgrow them. But there was probably enough hide in his portion for ten adult cloaks so he'd taken a small section and had a pair of gloves made for his friend. Basilisk hide gloves were just as effective as dragon skin for protection and would, Harry hoped, serve Neville well in Herbology the next few years.

* * *

Bill had been standing on the porch, one foot on the kickboard, his forearms resting on the rail for near an hour when Lily stepped next to him. She said nothing and they just stared out into the growing dark as the soft rain fell. "It was her birthday today," he said.

Lily's breath caught. "I'm sorry," she answered.

They were silent again and the rain picked up some. "She showed up two years before I was trapped," Bill said. "Girls were never an issue for me. Rejection never bothered me; if I wanted to ask one out, I did. And, not to brag, I rarely got turned down. Frankly, I was a slut. Then, along comes Sandra and I couldn't look at her without getting tied up in knots. We got on well. But my reputation was well known and somehow I knew she wasn't going to just fall into bed with me. So, basically, I spent two years pining over her, and every time I saw her talking with some other bloke I'd wake up in bed with some girl who wasn't her."

"You're right," Lily agreed. "You are a slut."

Bill snorted. "Can you at least give me, _was_ a slut?"

Lily rocked her head back and forth. "Sorry, women can't shed it that quickly, I'm not letting you either."

Bill sighed. "Fair enough." Again silence settled on them and the rain slowed, almost stopping. "The girl I wanted to spend my life with is dead," Bill whispered.

Lily closed her eyes and bowed her head. "I know," she said painfully.

They were silent for a long time before Bill straightened. "Suppose they'll be back soon," he said and disappeared into the house.

Lily stared out into the rain till long after he was gone. "Thanks for listening," she said softly.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Daphne Greengrass was certain her father, no, scratch that, her parents, father and mother, would not approve of her current position. She was part of a pile of teen and preteens sprawled on the parlour floor of Harry Potter's home. The part of that which would have upset her parents were the two boys, Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom, who were part of that pile. To be fair, it was completely innocent. They were each in their own sleeping bags, fully clothed in pajamas, and she, with Ginny, Luna and Hermione between her and Harry, was as far from a boy as she could be. But she was still quite certain her parents would think it improper; most especially as she was, for all intents and purposes, an engaged woman who was to begin the official courtship to her betrothed in two days time. In fact, she was positive her parents would find the situation scandalous. To be honest, she was very surprised she had been allowed to attend. Really, it would have been easy enough for her to floo home after the party earlier and floo back over in the morning for the early start to the amusement park. But, somehow, she was here and she was quite giddy of the whole thing.

There was not a person here who cared one whit for her social station. If anything, Harry was more derisive of the old customs than Ginny. He may not have been one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, but he had money and a title and could afford to display his attitude in ways Ginny could not, or perhaps even dared not. The truth was, Harry was actually pretty good at the game. As Lord Black had told her father on their second meeting, Harry was adept at saying the right words while meaning the exact opposite.

Hermione, well she was Muggle-born. Daphne had been taught that the Muggles had begun abandoning the old ways long before wizards. The mixing of the social classes was much more prevalent among the Muggles. It was even rumored that the Muggle heir to the throne of England was involved in an illicit affair with a commoner. No, Hermione was not impressed with her _status_ at all.

That brought her to Luna. She truly did not know what to make of the girl. Most of the students in Ravenclaw referred to her as Loony. She had heard Ginny's brother, Ron, calling her that on any number of occasions. She didn't know if the girl was Loony or not, but she was certainly… different. She was perfectly friendly though and seemed much more genuine in that regard than Hermione. There was definitely something the Muggle-born girl was holding against her that Daphne was unaware of just yet.

Last was Neville. The Longbottom heir was the only one who seemed to actually be aware of the social standing she carried with her last name. But, as he was on relatively equal par with her in that regard and his family would not have tried to curry favor with a neutral to Dark leaning family, he was not overly observant of her status. He knew it and treated her with respect, but mostly seemed to be ignoring her. He was close with Harry and Hermione, a bit less friendly with Ginny and seemed as confused as herself by Luna.

Daphne felt a brief moment of discomfort when thinking of her friend Shishong Fung. Her parents had deemed Shishong an acceptable friend when she was but an infant; and so they had become friends. The two had spent many days and countless hours together. But the truth was Daphne felt more at ease and closer with Ginny than she ever had with her childhood friend.

Whatever any of that meant, Daphne found herself quite happy to be invited. It was certainly interesting. Parts of it she could hardly even believe. Harry Potter's mother was not dead! Somehow the all-powerful Dark Lord had failed to kill not only an infant still in nappies, but that child's mother as well. There was far more to the story than she had been told and her father had told her she was to guard the secret of Lily Potter being alive as if it were a secret straight out of the Greengrass grimoire. It was plain that the others knew far more than she did and she was a bit bothered by that. But she was the newest to the group and had not been directly involved in any of the goings on at the end of first or second-year. She did rather hope that her new knowledge of Lily Potter might free Ginny to tell her some of what was going on with her though.

But all of that, interesting as it was, was not exactly fun. And it had been a very enjoyable and interesting party. Harry lived in a Muggle house; her family would barely consider it servants' quarters, but it was very quaint and the Muggle stuff was all very strange. She didn't understand at all how flipping a switch on the wall made the bulb on the ceiling light up, but it did. Something to do with elec… elec… electricity! That was it! It was certainly brighter than candles and torches and fireplaces. But was somehow more sterile as well. The dishwasher was also very confusing. You loaded it with dirty dishes, put a little pellet in the door, closed it up, pushed a button and a few hours later the dishes were all cleaned, dry and ready to be put away. She'd only ever seen the elves doing the dishes at home. Magic was faster, but the Muggle way seemed to make the dishes gleam more. And how did elec… electricity turn on a light, but also clean dishes? Harry had laughed at her question and said elec… electricity could be made to light a room or do the dishes in the same way magic could do the same. Just like magic could be made to do different things, electricity could be made to do what you wanted, you just had to _ask_ it properly.

Harry's room was very interesting as well. He had many books. It was plain to see he came by his good marks honestly and his education did not end just because school was out for the year. His mum expected a lot of him and Harry gave it to her. But she had seen thousands of books; it was the large black box with all the blinking lights in a glass-faced cabinet that had fascinated her. She'd had no idea Muggles had anything at all like the wireless! And the music it played, well, not even the Weird Sisters were that loud! Nor had she known Harry played an instrument. Or that he sang and wrote his own music as well. He had played a few songs and sang some earlier and she wholeheartedly agreed with the rest, Harry had a lovely singing voice. He had a very impressive range as well. One song, Candle in the Wind by a Muggle artist named Elton John had been just lovely; while another, Pour Some Sugar on Me by a band called Def Leopard – what a strange name, that – had been wild and loud, more than a bit scandalous and very, very fun. She couldn't help joining Hermione and Luna in dancing and throwing her head around. They'd even gotten Ginny to participate some. An act she had noticed pleased Harry immensely.

Probably the most amazing thing though was something in the parlour called the telly, or television. It was marvelous! That was all there was to it. Harry's mum had something called a video player that worked with the telly and they had watched something called a film; Star Wars. And there had been actual magic in it! She understood that it wasn't really real, but how had the Muggles known about magic. Harry and Hermione had explained they didn't really, but she wasn't so sure. The Force sure seemed like Magic to her. And while the story never called it anything but the Force, she knew Levitation Charms and Banishing Charms when she saw them. And then there had been that time where the Darth Vader character had choked that man with the Force. That was Dark Magic; as dark as anything the Dark Lord was rumored capable of. Really, to her, it seemed the only thing the Muggles had gotten wrong was no one needed wands to perform the spells. No, she wasn't sure some Muggle didn't actually know about magic when they dreamed the story up. Because how else would they have dreamed the story up? Luna, Ginny and Neville agreed with her.

That had upset Hermione though because, according to her, Muggles had been dreaming up things for a very long time without any help from witches and wizards and if witches and wizards were so much more advanced, then why hadn't they dreamed up electricity? Or why hadn't it been a witch or wizard that invented the steam locomotive, or cars, or busses. Those had all been Muggle inventions that wizards and witches only borrowed, and witches and wizards still hadn't figured out how to borrow airplanes, which were much bigger and faster than magic carpets or brooms. She, Neville, Luna and Ginny had been given a lot to think about.

There had just been a lot of things to consider all around and it she was finally feeling like she might drop off. Tomorrow was bound to be interesting as well. She had never heard of an amusement park. Ginny and Luna had, but had never been. Neville had been to one on Black Poole Pier but he'd been very young. Harry and Hermione were both very excited to go. Hermione wanted to play games, but Harry had talked endlessly about the rides. She hoped it would be as fun as they said. It would give her something to talk about on her date with Marcus. She yawned and rolled over. Sleep really would be nice.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Ginny hurried after Daphne into the other girl's room. They took seats on the bed, sitting cross-legged and facing each other. "Well?" Ginny asked, "tell me everything!"

"Well he's absolutely gorgeous," Daphne gushed. "I haven't actually seen him since Christmas you know."

"But you're betrothed to him," Ginny protested. "Doesn't he ever visit?"

"Father almost always insists on meeting with him at his manor. He's kept us apart because of our age difference."

"That would drive me nuts," Ginny said.

"But you can't stand the idea of being betrothed either."

"I know," Ginny agreed. "I don't know how you can stand it. But at least Marcus is good looking and he does seem to be nice."

"Why do you hate the idea so much? Don't you think your parents could pick someone who was good for you?"

"You weren't even born before you were betrothed to Marcus! Your mother and father had nothing to do with it at all, how could they have known you two would be good for each other?" Ginny shook her head. "No way. I'd give up my magic before I let my mother pick my husband."

"You would not."

Ginny set her jaw. "Yes I would."

Daphne stared at for a long few moments. "You really would, wouldn't you?"

"Yes."

"Even if you actually liked him?"

"Well," Ginny hedged, "maybe not then. But I'll never get married under the old laws. No one is ever going to be able to tell me what to do. _Ever._ I'll die first."

"What is it about marriage you hate so much?"

"I don't hate it," Ginny protested. "I just don't think it's for me. If someone else wants to get married, good for them. I'm just not interested."

"Not even if it's Harry?"

"Daphne," Ginny warned.

"No," Daphne countered. "I'm not blind Ginny. You like him. You like him a lot."

"I'm not talking about this."

"Tell me why not and I'll stop."

Ginny glowered at her. "Stop or I'll leave."

Daphne returned her glower. "Fine, I'll stop for today."

"Can't you just leave it?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because you spent the whole day at the amusement park watching him but only paired up to ride with him once."

Ginny stared at the other girl before looking away. "Daphne, I can't talk about this."

"Can't or won't."

"Please, can you just leave it?" Ginny pleaded. She took Daphne's hands in hers. "Please, Daph?"

Daphne pressed her lips into a thin line. "That's cheating."

"Daph?" Ginny pleaded.

"You're going to tell me someday," Daphne muttered.

Ginny cracked a weak smile. "Thanks."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

"Ginny?" Mrs Potter asked.

"Yes, Ma'am?"

"Are you going to Daphne's tomorrow?"

"No, Ma'am. She's meeting with Marcus."

Harry's mum smiled. "Well, would you like to go to Cheltenham with me? Just, your birthday is next week and I thought maybe I'd take you out for a bit of shopping if you'd like."

Ginny blinked a number of times. "S–Shopping?"

"Yes. What do you say? We could have lunch as well."

"L–Lunch?"

"Yes."

"B–But why?"

"Because I thought it might be fun? A girl sometimes just needs a day of shopping and pampering without boys around, don't you think?"

"I—"

"I promise, no attempts to get you to talk or anything like that."

"C–Can I think about it?"

"Certainly. You just let me know tomorrow morning, alright?"

"A–Alright."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

"Aren't you angry?" Ginny asked. She wasn't certain how she'd agreed to join Harry's mum for the day but she had. They'd spent the morning wandering the shoppes, and very few words had been exchanged between them. They were at lunch now. Ginny had been allowed to pick and not even her stubbornness had put her off asking if they could go for pizza. The food was new to her diet – her mother had never made it, but they had it for lunch about once a week at the Briar Patch – and she couldn't seem to get enough of it.

"I'm angry about a lot of things, Ginny. I'm afraid you'll need to be more specific than that."

"The," Ginny glanced around, they were in a Muggle area, but she was learning you could never be absolutely certain a witch or wizard wasn't about, "well, the 'P' word."

Mrs Potter took a bite of her pizza and chewed slowly before swallowing. She then took a drink. "I'm livid," she answered and took another bite.

Ginny stared back at her. "But you can't do anything about it so you're just accepting it?"

"I suppose you could say that. I like to believe I am doing something about it."

"By choosing to fight back?"

"Yes."

"Harry says he doesn't believe it. He says it's his choice to fight, that he could just choose to hide instead and… _He_ would never find him."

Mrs Potter tipped her head. "I agree. Harry could choose to hide, and I fully believe he could do so and never be found."

Ginny frowned. "But is that actually avoiding his fate or not? Is it _living_?"

Mrs Potter shrugged. "I suppose I see your point. I'm not exactly sure what the answer is. But maybe the question isn't about avoiding your fate, maybe it's a question of illusion."

"Illusion?"

"Do any of us really have a choice in anything we do, or is it all an illusion of choice?"

"I don't understand."

Mrs Potter leaned forward. "It's very easy to look at Harry and think his fate, his destiny, is predetermined. After all, doesn't the prophecy tell us exactly that? It can certainly seem as if he has no choice in the matter. But here's the thing, maybe all of us have a fate or a destiny that was determined long before we were born. Maybe we only think we have a choice in any of it because we're lucky enough to _not_ have a prophecy telling us what that fate or destiny is. Maybe our _choice_ only exists in the illusion being naive of the truth creates." Ginny just stared at her. "Or maybe the truth is we actually make every choice available to us at the time and there are actually infinite realities supporting those choices."

"Sorry?" Ginny asked.

"There is theory that exists called the Many Worlds Theory. And it supports this idea. This morning you chose to join me in shopping and lunch. But you also chose not to. This created a split in reality; one reality was created where you and I did not go out today. The other reality created is the one that sees you and I sitting here enjoying lunch together. Now, the theory expands from there. We have the reality you and I inhabit, but there is yet another reality that exists where you chose to have fish and chips for lunch instead of pizza. Yet a third reality exists where instead of this pizza place, we chose a different one. Every choice, compounds on all the choices made before creating infinite realities. One exists where I am dead and James is alive. Another exists where Harry did not accept Kaa's offer to bond with him. Yet another where Hermione accompanied Harry past the chessboard instead of yourself and because of that she was killed during the battle for the stone."

"That's – that's—"

"That is the reality Nimue told me she prevented by helping you last year."

"S–She told you that?"

"She told me if it had been Hermione instead of yourself at that final confrontation that Hermione would have died during it."

"So there's no choice for any of us in anything?"

"Oh, but there is. For every choice there is to be made, every choice _is_ made."

"But if that's the case, then nothing matters at all."

"Doesn't it?"

"Not if every choice that can be made is made."

"So then it doesn't matter to you that you live in the reality where Hermione is still alive as opposed to the one where she is dead?" Ginny opened her mouth but then clamped it shut. "Choice matters, Ginny. I much prefer this reality, where you chose to join me as opposed to the one you did not."

"But how do you know? Maybe that other version of you is happy I said no."

"Because I choose to believe that other me is saddened by your choice not to join me."

"That makes no sense at all."

"It doesn't need to make sense. I cannot do anything for that other reality. The only reality that matters is the one in which I exist and I am happy that you decided to join me."

Ginny furrowed her brow. "I think you're crazier than Luna."

Mrs Potter smiled. "I think Luna would understand perfectly." She drained the last of her coke. "Have you seen anything you'd like for your birthday yet?"

"You don't have to buy me a present."

"But I _want_ to buy you a present."

Ginny frowned. If she were completely honest, she knew what she'd like. But she felt far too terrible asking Harry's mum to buy her new robes for school; not after what she'd done to the robes Harry had given her. "I really can't think of anything."

Mrs Potter sighed. "You're worse than Harry." She pushed her chair back. "Well come along then. As long as I'm here I need to stop in Boots quick, then we can wander some more and see if something strikes your fancy."

It was in Boots that Ginny did find something she wanted. "You're certain?" Mrs Potter asked a bit dubiously. "That's really all you want?"

"Positive," Ginny said.

Mrs Potter frowned. "How about we go and have it done for you. I'm certain we could get a walk-in appointment."

"No, this is what I want."

Mrs Potter sighed. "Alright then, let's have it." Ginny handed over the small box. "Will you at least let me help you? It takes a bit of practice."

"Ok," Ginny agreed.

* * *

Harry wandered into the kitchen, idly wondering what his mum and Ginny were up to. The two had disappeared up to his mum's room after their shopping foray and he'd not seen them since. The three weeks since his birthday had seen a slow change in Ginny's attitude towards him. She had actually talked to him a couple of times. He'd even seen a genuine smile directed his way once before she'd caught him watching her and it was gone. Maybe his mum had gotten her to talk some today – she was exceedingly good at getting you to do just that without realizing you were. He hoped so. The flashes of the real Ginny that occasionally broke through made the time she was closed away really difficult. He missed her. And he refused to believe she was lost to him forever. Sighing, he filled a glass from the sink. He had about half drained it when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw his mum enter the kitchen. He turned to see if Ginny was with her and promptly inhaled everything remaining in his glass. And then he started hacking. He bent over double, trying to clear his lungs and Mum moved to pound his back.

"Alright there?"

"F–Fine," Harry gasped. He gave a little shake and straightened. Ginny was watching him intently. Harry tipped his head slightly, studying her.

"What?" she demanded.

Harry shook his head. "Just, I like the purple. Ginny cocked her head. Harry gave a decisive nod. "Yeah, black with a purple streak. It's total rebel rocker-chick."

"Chick?" Mum said threateningly.

Harry smirked at her. "Yeah, you know, chick, girl, babe, maybe you should put some purple in yours, or maybe pink. It'll help you look younger." Harry waited a half beat before bolting.

"Get back here, Buster!" Mum cried.

"Seriously, Mum you walked right into that."

"I'll show you who's old, Harry Potter!"

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Daphne stepped out of the floo into the parlour at the Briar Patch. Ever since Harry's birthday she had been joining the group of five for remedial potion's lessons. She was running a bit late today and Remus greeted her. "Hello, Daphne. They're in the barn already. I doubt Lily has managed to get them quieted down yet so if you hurry you probably won't have missed anything."

She smiled graciously at the werewolf. "Thank you, Mr Lupin." Honestly, she was a bit nervous around him – he was a werewolf after all – and was only too glad for an excuse to quickly leave. She hurried for the kitchen and was quickly making her way across the back garden to the barn.

"Hey, Daph," Harry greeted her.

"Hello, Daphne," Mrs Potter said at the same time.

"Hello Mrs Potter, I'm sorry I'm late."

She brushed the apology off. "It's not a bother at all. I set your station up for you. So if you could take your place."

"Yes, Ma'am. Thank you." She turned her attention to Harry, ready to tell him once again not to call her Daph, when she got her first look at Ginny. "What did you do to your hair!" she shrieked.

"She's rebelling," Luna said.

Harry stuck his hand out to Hermione. "Told you. Not even she could keep her propriety." Hermione disgustedly slapped a pound coin into his palm. "Huh'un," Harry said, "the bet was a galleon. Cough up."

"But you're hair is gorgeous!" Daphne cried.

Ginny shrugged. "I was tired of red."

"You'll always be red, Ginevra," Luna said. "The truth is in the rug. At least that's what I overheard Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum saying in the garden the other night. I admit, it took me a bit to figure what they meant by drapes and rugs. They never struck me as being particularly interested in decorating, but I believe they were using the words as euphemisms."

The other five plus Lily stared at Luna expectantly. "Ok," Harry said, "I'll bite. What exactly are the drapes and rug?"

"The drapes are the hair on your head, the rug is your pubic hair. You can always tell someone's true hair color by the colour of the rug. At least that's what they were saying, but that makes no sense as one could dye their pubic hair as well." She focused on Ginny. "Did you dye your pubic hair too?"

Five jaws dropped to the floor. Harry simply collapsed in laughter. "Luna," he gasped, "you kill me."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Author's notes.

Yeah, there it is again. If you can't tell I'm a fan of the Many Worlds theory.


	8. Chapter 8

Author's notes:

Because it's Thanksgiving and my writing has been going well, here's and early post for you all. Enjoy.

Sorcerer's Muse

* * *

Standard disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR. Except where I might use some song lyrics which I will call out at the time and give proper credit. Thank you JKR for letting us play with your toys.

I will continue to use the occasional song lyric in the story and will give credit at the time when needed.

This is the fourth book in my Slytherin Harry series. And I'm departing from reusing JKR's title because too much of the story has changed. I'll leave it up to all of you to decide just who the Blood Traitor's Daughter is. In my mind there is more than one candidate.

Book 1: Harry Potter and the Muggle's Daughter

Book 2: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Book 3: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Book 4: Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor's Daughter.

If you haven't read books 1-3 you won't know what's going on. But the bonus is you've got three completed books before you even get to this one!

And last, the disappointing bits.

First, because the site gives me such difficulty uploading, I've adjusted my writing to make things easier and made chapters generally shorter than in the past I try to keep things at about 5000 words because it just works best.

Second, to ensure I keep the production of new material ahead of the pace of my posting I'm afraid I have to go to every other week. I'm sorry, but I'm doing the best I can.

* * *

 **HARRY POTTER AND THE BLOOD TRAITOR'S DAUGHTER**

 **CHAPTER VIII**

 **Privileges**

* * *

"Your daughter's birthday is in two days," Bill said. "She leaves for school six days after that. Are you really going to sit there and tell me you're going to do nothing at all to try and fix things between you?"

"I thought I was forbidden to contact her," Mum retorted.

"Don't be obtuse!" Auntie snapped.

Bill pinched the bridge of his nose. "Is this really how it's going to be, Mum? You're selfish pride is so important that you're going to blame your daughter for your mistakes?"

"I've told you and told you I didn't do those things!" Molly said angrily. "That woman planted those things in my mind!"

"Molly Weasley—" Auntie exploded.

Bill held his hand up. "No, Auntie, let me handle this." She subsided and Bill turned on his mother again. "She planted those things in your mind, that's what you believe?"

"Yes! I would never have given my daughter anything like that! I'm a powerful, competent witch and I'd be able to tell if someone cast Compulsion Charms on me or tried to control me like that."

"Would you?"

"Yes! How many times do I have to say that?"

"And you don't see the contradiction in that statement? You say you'd know if someone cast Compulsion Charms on you, or tried to plant memories in your mind, but you claim Andromeda Tonks has done just that? How would she do that to you if you were capable of detecting someone was attacking you that way?"

"Well I had no choice, did I? I had to let her in my mind, didn't I? It was that or have that awful woman arrest me for something I didn't even do."

Bill eyed her before sighing deeply and sitting back in his chair. "Mum, I think you should bring us tea." She instantly got a blank look on her face, stood, and left the room."

Auntie watched her go with a calculating look on her face. "You put a Compulsion Charm on her, didn't you?"

"Yep," Bill drawled.

Auntie pursed her lips. "Well, at this point I don't know what else to try." She sat back as Mum came back in with tea service for them. Only the tea service was a bit unusual.

Mum set the service down. "Tea, Auntie?" she asked.

"Please." Mum filled her cup from a bottle of rat poison. "Thank you, Molly," Auntie said, accepting the cup.

"You're welcome, Auntie. There are biscuits and honey as well."

Auntie eyed the bottle of Mrs Scower's All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover and the box of tomato fertilizer. "They look excellent," she answered.

"Thank you, Auntie." Mum turned to Bill. "You would like tea as well?"

"Please… Mum, can I have sugar as well?"

Mum blinked. She then frowned and stared at the cup in her hand. She then examined the tea service. "What happened? What is all this doing here?"

"You're serving us tea, Mum," Bill answered.

"But it isn't tea time."

"Amazing what a Compulsion Charm can do, isn't it," Bill said.

"You put a Compulsion Charm on me?" she cried.

"Two days ago," Bill confirmed. "And because you've had so many of them placed on you, and been so conditioned to do what you're told, you didn't even think twice about serving us rat poison." Bill drew his wand and pointed it at her. "In fact, Mum, I think you should stand up and go sit on the first step."

With barely a moment's hesitation she did exactly that. She had no more than sat down when she was on her feet again. "What am I doing over here?" Her hand shot to cover her mouth. "You just told me to sit here, didn't you?"

"I did," Bill said. "You knew I was going to do it. You saw me doing it. You couldn't stop yourself doing what I told you and the only reason you remembered me casting the spell is because I didn't tell you to forget what I had done to you."

Mum started to shake. Her eyes darted around the room frantically before settling on the hearth. "I burnt the letters," she whispered.

"What?" Bill asked.

She turned, terror in her eyes. "What have I done?" she cried and ran for her room.

Bill turned to Auntie. "I think we now know what happened to Ginny's letters," she said.

"I'd say so," Bill agreed.

She stood. "Perhaps you should go, and let me handle this."

"I'll stick around a while. If I don't hear from you in half an hour or so, you know where to find me."

"Very well."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Ginny's birthday party was a bit of a repeat of Harry's. Though there was no trip to Thorpe Park. Bill and Charlie didn't have the funds Harry's mum did and they had flat refused to let his mum pay for a thing. But they had been able to afford for Ginny to take her friends to the cinema in Cheltenham where they had seen Jurassic Park. Harry had thought it neat enough, but even a tyrannosaurus had nothing on dragons; especially as the tyrannosaurus wasn't even real and dragons were. Well, they were real at one time, just there weren't any alive now. Still the film had been fun and Ginny had seemed very pleased to be able to give back what some of her friends had given her. Of course Harry didn't look at it that way, but he knew not having the funds her friends did bothered Ginny when it came to giving of gifts and such so he was happy she felt she had something to share.

After the film they had returned to the Briar Patch where they had a pizza making party. Harry and Neville had quite stuffed themselves by having a contest to see who could eat the most. Neville had beaten him by two slices. Harry wasn't sure he hadn't won by losing because he couldn't even think about the chocolate cake that remained to be eaten yet.

"Cake or presents?" Mum cried.

Harry and Neville exchanged a look. "Presents!"

"You two don't get a vote," Malala reprimanded. "What would you like next, Luv, cake or presents?"

Harry and Neville turned puppy dog eyes on Ginny. "Please?" they pleaded.

Ginny grinned evilly. "Cake."

"Ugh," Harry and Neville moaned.

"Here we go!" Mrs Tonks said. She levitated the cake from the counter to the table. A quick wave of her wand lit the thirteen candles. "On three now. One – Two – Three."

"Happy Birthday to you."

Harry very quickly realized he'd been had and was the only one singing but he kept on anyway.

"Happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday dear, Ginny.

Happy birthday to you."

He finished, glaring at the others. "What?" Hermione demanded. "Can you blame us for wanting to hear your voice?"

"Well I can't blame anyone for _not_ wanting to hear yours," he retorted. Tonks smacked him in the back of the head. "Hey!"

"Thank you, Tonks," Hermione sniffed haughtily

"No problem, Sis, we gotta keep _little_ bro in line somehow."

Harry glowered at her. "Two more months, Sis, and we'll see who's keeping who in line."

"Big words," she mocked.

"You're only two inches taller than I am and I'll be back to my full strength in two months."

"Is that a challenge?"

"You bet it is."

"Christmas then?"

"You're on."

Tonks grinned. "Brilliant."

"Are you running a book on this?" Mum asked, looking at Sirius.

"Bet you're arse."

"Odds?"

Sirius eyed the two for a second. "Right now they're running at even."

"Five galleons on my son."

"Hey!" Tonks protested.

"And five on my daughter," Mrs Tonks said.

"Hey!" Harry complained.

A piercing whistle brought the banter to a halt. "The cake," Remus said pointedly.

"Oh!" Mrs Tonks cried. "Quickly, Luv, blow them out."

Ginny took a deep breath and let loose, quickly extinguishing the candles. There were only thirteen after all. Everyone cheered till one by one the candles ignited again. Ginny blew them out again only for the same thing to happen.

Harry held his hands up. "Wasn't me!"

"Me either!" Sirius said.

"Ditto!" Remus added. One by one the occupants of the room denied responsibility for the prank.

"I might have had something to do with it," Malala snickered.

"But how could you have done it?" Daphne protested.

She winked. "Ah, now that is a secret I just can't share with witches or wizards." She licked her fingers, reached over and pinched one of the candles out. This time it did not relight. "It's called, chemistry, Daphne. Which is very much like your potions and every bit as mysterious." One by one she pinched the remaining candles out.

"You're joking," Sirius said.

Malala smirked. "On the contrary, I'm quite serious."

Harry snorted. "Walked into that one, didn't you, Flea bag." Sirius glowered at him.

A bit more than half an hour later, after he'd somehow stuffed in not one, but two pieces of cake; hey, he was a teenage boy; it was expected he would be a walking garbage disposal. Harry offered Ginny a package. "Here," he said. Ginny took the green-paper wrapped package from him. For a number of reasons he was more than a bit nervous about his gift.

Ginny graced him with one of her rare, real smiles as she took it from him. She ripped the paper off and set the small box on her lap. It was made of polished wood, was only about two inches deep by maybe a foot in length and eight or nine inches in width. There was an old iron clasp holding the hinged lid closed. Ginny undid the clasp and flipped the lid. "It's not what you think," Harry said quickly when she seemed to stiffen. "You're not meant to write in it at all." Ginny swallowed. "Go on and open it," Harry urged. Ginny's hand shook as she reached in the box and removed the leather journal from it. "May I?" Harry asked. He reached for it and Ginny didn't resist as he gently took it from her. Harry flipped it open. "See, I've already written in it. And it's completely full. And I made it myself so I promise, there's no magic at all."

Ginny focused on him. "You made it?"

Harry nodded. "Yes. I swear, no magic."

"But what did you write in it?"

Harry shrugged. "Letters."

Ginny's brow furrowed. "Letters?"

"You've only ever asked me for one thing… I hope you don't mind I wrote more than one."

Ginny stared at him for a few seconds before cautiously taking the journal from him. She flipped through it for a few seconds before closing it and gently running her hand on the cover. She looked back up at him before reaching for his hand. "Thank you," she said.

Harry squeezed her hand. "You're welcome." She held his hand for another few seconds before withdrawing it from his again. "Happy Birthday, Ginny."

Ginny gave him a small smile before turning back to the crowd. "If you'll just excuse me a moment, I need to use the toilet."

An hour later they were in the back garden and Harry had been cajoled into getting his guitar out. He'd gone a bit further and brought out his birthday present as well; an electronic keyboard. His mum had spared little expense with it. It could be made to sound like over three-dozen different instruments and he could prerecord tracts into it. He finally had the base and drums or whatever other instruments to go with his guitar!

And he had the perfect song to get a party going. There was just one minor change to make to the lyrics. "Alright," he said. He picked a few notes to make certain everything was working right before kicking into the song. It started off with some really awesome guitar before the beat and the music really kicked in but Mum recognized it and jumped up to start singing with him. He grinned as she leaned in and they sang to each other.

"She was a fast machine.

She kept the motor clean.

She was the best damn woman that I'd ever seen

She had the sinless eyes.

Tellin' me no lies."

Harry held his hand up for her to stop as the next line began. He turned to Daphne and winked.

"Knockin' me out with those Hogwarts thighs."

It was all he could do to keep from collapsing in laughter at the look on her face and start playing again.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

"'Bout time you got up," Bill said.

Ron managed to stop his initial reaction to seeing his eldest brother in his mum's kitchen. They had barely spoken all summer. That was a situation Ron was just fine with. It had been over a year since Bill had taken his broom from him and he'd been forced to use a school broom, or even worse when at the Burrow, Charlie's old Cleansweap 5. "What did I do now?" he asked warily.

Bill smirked. "Nothing I'm aware of… Is there something I should be aware of?"

"No," Ron said quickly.

"Huh," Bill said, "Auntie says there is."

"I've been doing my work!" Ron cried.

"I know," Bill said. "She also says you're improving some in your ability to think before you speak."

"I have?" Ron asked, surprised. "I am?"

"According to Auntie."

Ron stared off into space for a second while he considered that information. "Oh."

Bill chuckled. "Have a seat, Ron."

"Why?" he asked warily.

"Or stand," Bill said, "makes no difference to me." Ron hesitated before slipping into a chair. Bill studied him till he began to fidget. "So tell me what you think of your first two years at Hogwarts?"

"What do you mean?"

"I think the question was pretty self explanatory, Ron. I want to know what you think of your first two years?"

"Erm," Ron said, "well, Snape's a git?"

Bill chuckled. "You won't get any argument from me there. What else?"

"Erm, Auntie is really tough?"

"Won't argue that either."

"Erm, well Ravenclaws are kind of uppity, but most of Hufflepuff seem alright."

"And Slytherin?"

"They're evil gits!"

"And Ginny?"

Ron fidgeted in his seat. "Well, she might be ok, but I really don't like that she's a Slytherin."

Bill tipped his head. "Honestly, I wish she wasn't either."

"You do?" Ron blurted.

"I do."

"But—"

"But what?"

"Well, you've been yelling at me it doesn't matter that she is."

"It doesn't matter," Bill said. "I wish she wasn't because she hates it."

"She does?"

"She does. A fact you'd know if you'd bothered to be any sort of brother to her the last two years."

"But she's friends with that Potter git!"

"It might surprise you to know, Harry Potter hates being in Slytherin as well."

"But he's always picking fights with Gryffindors or Ravenclaws."

Bill leaned forward with his elbows on the table. "Does he pick those fights with you, Ron, or does he finish them?"

"Erm," Ron said.

"You'll note it doesn't seem he has any problems with Hufflepuffs. Do you have any thoughts as to why that might be?" Ron said nothing. "Do you think maybe because they leave him alone?"

Ron scowled, "Maybe," he muttered.

Bill sat back in his chair. "Ron, I'm quite sure you're aware I've met Harry Potter by now, yes?" Ron pressed his lips into a thin line. "I'm going to tell you something about Harry, Ron. He has had a hard life; harder than you can possibly imagine. Almost from the day he was born he has fought just to stay alive. And because of that, he's a hard dude. Harry is not someone you want to be on the bad side of. But the thing is, he's perfectly willing to live and let live. If you leave him alone, he'll leave you alone… But if you pick a fight with him, or pick a fight with one of his friends, you can expect he will hit back and he will hit back hard." Ron stared at the table. "Now, I want you to think back and tell me, did Harry ever start anything with you or was he counterpunching?"

"I don't know," Ron eventually muttered.

"You think about it," Bill said. "In the meantime, how about we go to Diagon Alley?"

Ron looked up sharply. "What? Why?"

"Well, it's your birthday next week, isn't it? I thought maybe we'd go to Quality Quidditch Supplies."

"Really?"

"They've got a good stock on used brooms. Charlie said something about meeting us; wanted to make sure what you picked was up to snuff. Maybe we can get some lunch at the Leaky when we're done."

"You're havin' a laugh," Ron said.

Bill fixed him with a serious look. "Auntie said you'd earned some privileges, Ron. Nothing better than what you can use at school though."

"Wicked," Ron breathed.

"Ron."

"Yeah?"

"Privileges can be lost, yeah?"

Ron swallowed. "Right. I'll be good. I swear."

Bill nodded. "Come on then.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

"I don't care!" Ginny screamed.

"Ginny," Bill tried to placate her.

"NO! My mother is dead!" And with that she activated the portkey to her treehouse and was gone.

"Well," Charlie observed, "that went well."

"Shut up," Bill muttered.

"So which one of us is going—" Charlie started only to trail off when Tonks stumbled out of the floo

"Emergency lockdown," she gasped. "Pettigrew has escaped."

Bill and Charlie stared at her for a second before Bill sprang into action. "Go, make sure the Grangers are safe. Meet me at the Briar Patch." He twisted and with a sharp crack was gone. Two sharp cracks later Charlie and Tonks were gone as well.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

 **Lord Anders Greengrass Declares Family to Light. Voices Support for Director Bones**

In a surprise announcement, Lord Anders Greengrass, yesterday, voiced his support of Department of Magical Law Enforcement Director, Amelia Bones. Lord Greengrass was quoted as saying.

"I have long been concerned at the direction of Minister Fudge's administration. Particularly I have been alarmed at the continued reduction of funds and staffing levels for our Auror Corps. The current senior class of six cadets is the lowest in history with the two classes to follow even smaller at five and three cadets respectively. Last year alone we had ten aurors leave the Corps, another twenty are slated to retire in the next three years. This represents a net reduction of sixteen aurors, and is a direct result of Minister Fudge's administration.

"Director Bones has been calling for more funds and a build up of the Corps since taking office and the escape of Peter Pettigrew from custody only serves to prove her point. It was Minister Fudge who forced through legislation reducing authorized staff of Azkaban to fifteen aurors with a further reduction to thirteen slated to take effect this coming January. This escape says nothing of the competence of Director Bones, but speaks to the truth of her warnings against staffing reductions.

"Azkaban prison remains heavily populated with many followers of He-who-Must-Not-Be-Named. I shudder to think how many more might make their escape if Minister Fudge's reductions to staff are allowed to go into affect.

"For these reasons, among others, I cannot in good conscience continue to support our current Minister in his failed policies. Director Bones has proven prescient and she has my full and unconditional support."

Lord Greengrass announcement shores up the Bones coalition; which, for the first time since the surprise arrest and conviction of Peter Pettigrew, followed by the exoneration of Lord Sirius Black four years ago, had showed signs of cracks.

A brief statement in support of Lord Greengrass from current Falmouth Falcons keeper and ascendant Lord, Marcus Flint, further rocked the coalition supporting Minister Fudge. The Lord to be is betrothed to the eldest daughter of Lord Greengrass and was quoted as saying.

"I am in full support of my future father-in-law."

How these developments will play out remains to be seen, but it is certain Minister Fudge remains under fire. Lord Sirius Black, Fudge's biggest critic, reiterated his longstanding call for the Minster to resign. Lord Lucius Malfoy, who only yesterday called for the resignation of Director Bones, called the statement by Lord Black inappropriate and dangerously naive.

Lost in all of this remains the question of just how Pettigrew escaped. Azkaban's isolated location in the dangerous waters of the North Sea has always been thought inescapable. Just how did Pettigrew manage it?

The only thing we can be certain of is a dangerous psychopath is free to roam among us. The public is reminded that Pettigrew is an animagus who takes the form of a rat. He could be anywhere and caution should be exercised.

 **Former Head of DMLE and DIMC**

 **Dead of Apparent Suicide.**

Albus Dumbledore set the paper aside, ignoring the next headline. He had underestimated Amelia again. Her framing of the escape as a result of Cornelius' policy decisions on funding and staffing of the Auror Corps, combined with the surprise defection of Lord Greengrass and Lord to be, Marcus Flint was strengthening her position, not weakening it. This was exactly why she could not be allowed to unseat Cornelius.

She was destabilizing.

Change needed to be slow or you risked those resisting that change becoming violent. He had wondered about the Greengrasses ever since the last war where they had maintained a position of neutrality. This open declaration was going to incense the Dark leaning and pure-blood set. No, this was not good. Not good at all.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

"Well?" Madam Bones asked.

Harry picked his jaw up off the floor. He glanced about at the rest of the Order. "Do you think it's a good idea?" Mum asked.

Harry shrugged. "I guess I could ask."

"Excellent," Madam Bones said, "Cadet Tonks will escort you to find appropriate specimens."

"Yes, Ma'am," she said. "Come on, Little Bro."

"Now?" Harry asked.

"We've got today and tomorrow before it's the train and back to school, Kid. Time's wasting."

"But what about Hermione's party?"

"Like I said. Time's wasting."

"Right," Harry agreed. He turned to Hermione. "See you in a few hours." She just nodded.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Author's notes.

The song Harry sings is, of course, You Shook Me All Night Long, by AC/DC


	9. Chapter 9

Author's notes:

Sorry, this should have gone up last night.

Sorcerer's Muse

* * *

Standard disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR. Except where I might use some song lyrics which I will call out at the time and give proper credit. Thank you JKR for letting us play with your toys.

I will continue to use the occasional song lyric in the story and will give credit at the time when needed.

This is the fourth book in my Slytherin Harry series. And I'm departing from reusing JKR's title because too much of the story has changed. I'll leave it up to all of you to decide just who the Blood Traitor's Daughter is. In my mind there is more than one candidate.

Book 1: Harry Potter and the Muggle's Daughter

Book 2: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Book 3: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Book 4: Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor's Daughter.

If you haven't read books 1-3 you won't know what's going on. But the bonus is you've got three completed books before you even get to this one!

And last, the disappointing bits.

First, because the site gives me such difficulty uploading, I've adjusted my writing to make things easier and made chapters generally shorter than in the past I try to keep things at about 5000 words because it just works best.

Second, to ensure I keep the production of new material ahead of the pace of my posting I'm afraid I have to go to every other week. I'm sorry, but I'm doing the best I can.

* * *

 **HARRY POTTER AND THE BLOOD TRAITOR'S DAUGHTER**

 **CHAPTER IX**

 **Polyjuice**

* * *

The train gave a lurch, and with it summer was officially over. Harry really wasn't certain he was ready to head back to school. He and Hermione'd had more than one late night discussion trying to decide if they wanted to transfer out of Hogwarts. In the end they decided they didn't want to quit what they'd started. There were also their friends to consider. They both really liked Neville. Despite the events of last year, now that everything was said and done, their friendship with Luna seemed to have not missed a beat. Ginny, for different reasons, remained a trial for both of them. But they were friends with her again and things seemed to be getting better as she had more time to heal from what had been done to her. Daphne was becoming a friend as well. More so to Harry than Hermione; Hermione was wary of the pretty blonde.

"You know what the best thing about t-today is?" Neville asked. Harry was really impressed with his friend. The boy's stutter was nearly gone.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"No training." Neville settled in the corner. "I'm planning to take a good long nap." Harry chuckled. Neville could fall asleep in seconds and claimed it was due to the fact he was growing so much. It was a fact that couldn't be disputed. Where two years ago Neville had been a bit pudgy and relatively average in height, he was now near six feet. And that pudginess had been replaced with some pretty solid muscle; the result of eight months of training looked good on his friend.

Harry, unfortunately, hadn't grown much in the last year; only adding about an inch, bringing his frame to 5'-1". He was a bit disappointed; his dad had been 6'-2" and his mum was 5'-9". What really irked him though was, but for Ginny, all of his friends were taller than he was. The fact proved Daphne's best ammunition in their ongoing war of wit. She constantly zinged Harry with barbs about his lack of height. Harry usually resorted to assaulting her _aristocratic_ sensibilities; flustering the girl had become a favorite pastime of his.

Just then the door of their compartment slid open. Harry smirked. _Speak of the devil._

Daphne stepped in. "Hello all," she said. "I wanted to introduce you to my sister, Astoria." Harry's brain derailed at the sight of the girl who followed a bit nervously behind Daphne. "Astoria," Daphne went on, "these are my friends, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter. You, of course, already know Ginny."

"Hello," Astoria said. "It's nice to meet you."

Luna cocked her head. "Interesting, I thought Polyjuice was supposed to be a perfect representation. May I ask, why you've taken it to look like Ginevra?"

Harry's mind started functioning again. _Thank_ _Nimue for that girl,_ he thought. He kind of wished he'd actually looked at the photograph Sirius had been given now. At the very least it would have prepared him for the shock of seeing a near perfect doppelganger of Ginny.

"Luna," Ginny hissed. "She didn't take Polyjuice Potion. She looks like that all the time."

Luna focused on her. "Are you quite certain?"

"Yes."

Luna nodded. "That is a relief. The only reason I could see for doing so would be to steal Harry from you and that would have made it rather difficult to be friends." She turned to Astoria and held her hand out. "But, as Ginevra assures me you are as you should be, I am very pleased to meet you." Harry groaned internally. Luna was definitely a two edged blade. He could see Ginny beginning to fume and worried she would be set off against him again.

Mouth slightly agape Astoria stared at Luna. Daphne nudged her. "Oh," she said and shook Luna's hand. "Thank you."

Hermione offered her hand as well. "It's nice to meet you, Astoria," she said. "Don't mind Luna. She just tends to speak truths most others would avoid. You get used to it after a while. And, well, while it can be unsettling at times, it is also rather refreshing."

 _I'm going to murder you,_ Harry thought, his eyes boring a hole in the back of Hermione's head. He was firmly rebuffed by her Occlumency shields.

Astoria shook Hermione's hand. "Thank you, Hermione. Daphne has told me how intelligent you are. I hope I can come to you if I have any questions."

Hermione smiled. "I would be happy to help should you find Daphne unable to provide the answers you need."

Harry stood up and grabbed Hermione by the back of her shirt. "Excuse us," he growled. He dragged her down the corridor to the coupling area where he turned on her angrily. "What the hell was that?" he demanded.

"What was what?" she asked innocently.

"Don't play stupid with me, Hermione. Anything you know about snark you learned from me. You just took digs at Ginny and Daphne. You've been doing it since my birthday and I'm getting a bit fed up with it."

"Oh, like you aren't taking digs at Daphne all the time."

"Don't even, Hermione. It isn't the same and you know it! I swear, if you've set back our friendship with Ginny—"

"I think you managed that just fine all by yourself," she cut him off, "what with making calf eyes at Astoria."

"What's this?" a voice interrupted, "a lover's quarrel? Don't tell me you've finally wised up and dumped the Mudblood, Potter." Harry and Hermione turned. Draco, flanked by his group of sycophants, was stood in the passage. "I can't say I'm surprised. I mean just how many kinds of half-breed is she?" Harry felt Hermione stiffen beside him and he clenched his fist tightly. He was in no mood right now. Draco had no idea just how close he was to getting pounded. The ponce smirked at them. "Nice hair, by the way, Potter."

Harry's whole continence shifted in a blink. What with he and Hermione not exactly being subtle in their argument and now Draco, they'd drawn a bit of crowd; as much as they could in the narrow corridors anyway. The setup was too perfect to pass up. "Aww, Drac," Harry gushed, "I didn't think you'd notice. You really like it? I did it for you."

Draco furrowed his brow. "What?"

Whatever problems they were having, given a mutually agreeable target, Harry could always count on Hermione to have his back and she didn't disappoint him now. "It's true, Draco. He's been on all summer about what he could do to get your attention again."

"What are you talking about?" Draco demanded.

Harry stepped forward. "We were so close first-year, Drac. You noticed everything about me. But then last year you barely said a word to me and I'm just so happy you noticed I changed my hair."

"What's going on?"

"I'm not sure."

"Is Potter saying he's gay?"

"No way!"

"Potter or Malfoy?"

Draco's eyes widened as the rumors wound up. "I am not gay!"

"Oh, now it's alright, Draco," Hermione soothed. "There's nothing wrong with it."

"I AM NOT GAY!" He turned on the crowd. "I'M NOT!" Chuckles swept the gathered students. Even his friends were looking at him oddly. Draco turned on Harry. "Tell them! Tell them you're making it up!"

Harry adopted a hurt expression, but was prevented from pushing the act further by the appearance of a couple of prefects, Selene Fawcett of Ravenclaw and Jaden Smith of Gryffindor, both sixth-years. "What's going on?" Jaden demanded, shoving through the crowd.

"Move along," Selene ordered, "back to your compartments."

The crowd began to disperse. "Seriously, Potter," Jaden demanded, "I'd have thought you caused enough trouble on the train last year."

"He accused me of being gay!" Draco whinged.

Harry rolled his eyes. "I said no such thing."

"You implied it!"

"Well, you are the one who can't stay away from me. Believe me, I'd be only too happy to be rid of the foul smell you trail."

"See! See, he's doing it again!"

Jaden rolled his eyes. "Bloody hell, just get back to your compartments."

"Righty ho!" Harry said. He grabbed Hermione and dragged her back to their compartment. Before they entered he turned her to face him again. "I meant it, Hermione. I'm still pissed at you."

Hermione clenched her jaw. "Fine, I'll apologize."

"Good." He turned to head up the passageway.

"Where are you going?"

"To find Daphne's sister. I kind of ran out during introductions." Harry found Astoria a few compartments up from his. She was settled with three other girls he'd never seen before and he assumed they must be fellow first-years with her. He slid the door open. "Excuse me," he said, focused on Astoria, "I just wanted to apologize for running out on you back there." He held his hand out. "Harry Potter, and I'm pleased to make your acquaintance."

She took his hand. "Astoria Greengrass. It's nice to meet you as well."

Harry raised her hand and kissed it. Who said he couldn't play the part of a Nobel Lord? "No matter what Daph has told you, I promise I don't bite." She blushed and he released her hand. Oh, and Hermione doesn't bite either. She's just a bit temperamental."

"I'll remember that," she answered. She turned. "These are my friends, Xui Fung, Anwen Reece and Gwyneth Thorne," she introduced them in turn. Harry recognized Xui as being Shishong's sister, Anwen was likely the younger sister of Elenydd Reece, and Gwyneth was probably Gavin Thorne's younger sister. All three older siblings were housemates of his and were part of Daphne's crowd.

Harry kissed each of the girls' hands in turn. "Well, it was nice to meet all of you. I'm sure I'll see you around. And if you have any questions or need help with anything, I'll be happy to do what I can."

"Thank you, Harry," they chorused.

Harry backed out of the compartment and slid the door closed. He paused at the last second. "Oh, and if anyone, say maybe Malfoy, gives you any trouble, you come to me, alright?"

"We will, Harry," Astoria said.

Harry grinned. "Bril. See you." He closed the door and found himself face to face with Daphne. "Hey, Daph."

She didn't rise to the bait. "I would like a word with you… In private."

Harry resisted the opening she'd given him. "Sure." She turned and led him to the back of the train and the baggage car. "What's up?" he asked when she'd closed the door.

"I am aware you do not hold with the old ways. My sister and I were raised differently. She is aware of the proposal you were presented this summer and was quite pleased with the possibility. She is also aware of your response. I have spent much effort explaining to her this was not a rejection of her, but a rejection of ideas that are falling to the waste-bin of history. That does not change the fact I am well aware of just where your interests lay. I would very much appreciate, even if done so accidentally, if you did not give Astoria cause to believe you were interested in her as anything more than a friend."

"You knew about that?" Harry asked.

"Only after it was too late to warn against it."

Harry nodded. "Have you told Ginny?"

"I told her my father had done something I wished he had not and that I hoped when she heard of it she would not think less of me. That was as far as I could go against my family."

Harry nodded. "I wondered."

"Why haven't you told her?"

Harry shrugged. "I've got my reasons."

"She hasn't told me, you know; whatever the problem between the two of you is."

"Sorry, Daphne, you won't get it out of me either."

"Did you do something?"

"I wish," Harry muttered. "That'd be easier to fix."

Daphne frowned. "So she did something then?"

Harry sighed. "No, Daphne, she didn't."

"Well what's wrong then? You don't even bother disguising the fact you like her. And it is painfully obvious she is failing in her attempts to hate you. So what _is_ the issue?"

Harry pressed his lips together. "We were born, Daphne. That's the problem. We were born."

She rolled her eyes. "Please, don't be so dramatic."

"I'm not. The problem is, We – Were – Born." She glowered at him. "Come on, you're plenty smart enough to figure it out."

"Why don't you just tell me?"

"Because then I can't tell her I didn't tell you."

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Daphne muttered disgustedly.

"Seriously," Harry retorted. "You're the one who can't stop telling me you've been trained your whole life to read between the lines and find the truth in the lies people tell. I'm not even lying to you. We – Were – Born, Daphne. That's the problem."

She frowned, obviously trying to find the answer in the bits of information she knew. "You mean the p—"

Harry stepped close, clamping his hand over her mouth as he pushed her back against the wall. She only knew of it; not the content, but even that was dangerous. "Not here," he hissed. He waited a second before dropping his hand and stepping back.

"Sorry," she said.

"Me too."

She glanced at the door. "Maybe we should get back?"

"Maybe you should finish piecing it together first."

Daphne stared at him for a second. "If you were born to…"

Harry nodded. "Go on."

"She doesn't think she was born to…" Harry merely raised a brow at her. "But why would she think that?"

Harry shrugged. "Don't really know. Should we head back?"

"But is she right?"

"We all have choice, Daphne," Harry said. "Shall we?"

"Erm, yes, of course."

Harry opened the door and held it for her. "Oh, and don't worry about your sister."

Harry had barely settled in their compartment when the door slid open again. _Oh, you've gotta be kidding me,_ he thought. Ginny's brother Ron was stood there. He glanced at Ginny. She didn't look pleased to see him. Neville, Luna and Hermione looked to be less than pleased as well. Ron shifted nervously.

"Please tell me I'm seeing things," Luna said.

"Erm," Harry answered, "you'll need to be a bit more specific, Luna. You tend to see things like wrackspurts and nargles and besotting plimpers, that I don't all the time."

"I see an eejit," Luna confirmed.

"That would be it," Harry agreed.

"Drat," she muttered. "I was hoping it was just an overly ugly orangutan."

"Sorry," Harry said, "an orangutan would have been smart enough to know it wasn't welcome."

Ginny sighed disgustedly. "What do you want, Ron?"

"Erm…" Ron started, but stalled.

"Pretty sure an orangutan would be more eloquent," Harry observed.

"Most likely," Luna agreed.

"Guys," Neville said.

"Yes/Yeah?" Luna and Harry asked together.

"Enough." Harry cocked his head while Luna furrowed her brow.

"What – Do – You – Want, Ron?" Ginny reiterated.

"Look, I just…"

"What?" Harry taunted. "Counted to ten for the first time? Tied your shoes without help?"

"Oh!" Luna exclaimed. "I know, you used the potty without wetting yourself!"

Harry snorted and started laughing. "Luna, you kill me."

"Look!" Ron said angrily. "I just came to tell you I won't give you no trouble this year."

Harry abruptly stopped laughing. "Seriously? You're calling a truce?"

Ron glowered at him. "I don't like you. And I don't like Slytherin or that Ginny's in it, but I won't bother you no more."

Harry stared at him. "Bollocks, there goes half my plans for the year."

"You didn't tell us you were planning anything," Luna complained.

"I wanted to surprise you."

"Oh, well that's alright then."

"Harry," Hermione said. He focused on her. "Enough."

He sighed. "Fine." He stood and offered his hand to Ron. "Deal. You leave us alone, no more turning into a chicken and crowing about Snape's knickers." Ron's eyes widened before narrowing angrily. "Of course we can always find something else to do to you and not get caught for it," Harry said. He shrugged. "Your call, Weasley."

"Fine," Ron snapped. He shook Harry's hand, trying to crush it in the process but even if Harry wasn't back to his full strength yet, the pain of a strong handshake barely registered with him. "You leave me alone, I leave you alone."

"Deal," Harry agreed.

"Deal." Without a word he let go of Harry's hand and left. Harry went to close the door when a different hand stopped him.

"Not so fast there, Harry." Ginny's twin brothers and their friend Lee pushed their way into the compartment and closed the door.

Harry glowered at them before dropping his head and shaking it disgustedly. "Please tell me the other idiot isn't going to stop by too."

"Other idiot?" one of the twins asked.

"So far I've dealt with Malfoy—"

"Heard about that," the other twin interrupted him.

"Yeah, well done, that," the first twin complimented.

"Of course now the whole school thinks you're, gay as well," Lee said.

Harry shrugged. "Maybe I am."

The older boys exchanged looks. "Sorry, not fallin' for it, Potter," one of the twins said. Harry frowned. He really was going to have to do something so he could tell them apart. It was useless to label them Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum if he couldn't tell which Tweedle was which.

"The smell of baboon is driving me bonkers," Luna interjected. "Do you think you might be able to tell us what you came for and leave?"

"Baboon?" the three chorused.

"Fred smells of baboon," Luna said. "It's frightfully disgusting." The three stared at her for a second before Lee and one of the twins leaned in and sniffed at the other. Harry assumed it was Fred they were sniffing at.

"Oy!" the offended twin protested.

"He does have a peculiar odor." Harry decided to just go with this one being George. "Is that how you do it?" George asked, focused on Lee.

"I'm not telling," Lee said.

Fred raised an arm and sniffed at himself. "Don't know what she's talking about."

"Oy, Eejits," Ginny said. Everyone focused on her. "What do you want?"

"Well," Fred said.

"Mostly we came to see how you were," George said.

"We really didn't see you much over the summer," Fred said.

"But you did give us an excuse to punch Ron out."

"You punched him out?" Harry asked.

"Yeah," George said, "caught him with left and right hooks at the same time."

"It was brilliant," Fred agreed. Both twins looked nostalgic for a second.

"But we digress," George went on.

"So we wanted to give you your birthday present." Fred produced a brown paper wrapped package and offered it to her.

Ginny stared at the package before focusing on them. "You got me a present?"

"Course we did," George said.

"Things might have been a mess for a while," Fred said.

"But ever since Bill knocked our heads straight we've been on your side."

"Well go on and open it," Fred said.

"We swear it's perfectly safe," George added.

"Define perfectly," Luna said.

Fred and George put their hands over their hearts. "We swear there is nothing of a pranking nature of any sort within our gift to our most lovely sister," they said in perfect unison.

Harry leaned towards Hermione. "That's creepy."

"Imagine having to live in the same tower with them," she hissed back.

Ginny took the package and carefully unwrapped it; revealing a very nice pair of slasher gloves. "We got you a full pair," Fred said.

"Figured we owed you for last summer when we were under arrest and couldn't get you anything," George said.

Ginny scowled at the reminder of the previous summer, but forced a smile on her face. "Thank you."

"Don't let it go to your head," George said.

"We're still planning to wipe the pitch with you this year."

"Yeah, whatever," Ginny retorted.

Her brothers grinned at her. "Happy Birthday, Gin-Gin."

Ginny scowled at them but stood and gave them both hugs. "Thanks, Eejits."

"Welcome," Fred said.

"Glad you like them," George said. The two then turned to Hermione. "We haven't had a chance till now," George went on.

"But we're sorry about last year," Fred said.

"We know the truth now," Lee added.

"Thank you," Hermione said stiffly.

The older boys smiled weakly. Fred then focused on Harry and Neville. "We also wanted to thank you two," he said.

"For saving Ginny," they said together. Ginny paled and Luna reached for her hand. "We know we're eejits."

"But we really can't thank you enough," George went on.

"And if you ever need anything," Fred said.

"Just ask."

"We've got your back."

"We swear," they said together.

Harry glanced at Neville. "I'm just glad she's safe," Neville said.

Harry focused on Ginny. "I'd do it a thousand times over."

She seemed to pale further and Harry thought he'd made a mistake when Luna said. "Oh, enough of this. I'm looking forward to Hogsmeade on the weekends. They have the most wonderful teahouse; Mummy took me to once, but I can't remember the name."

"Madam Puddifoots?" Lee asked.

Luna tipped her head, thinking. "Yes, I think that might be it."

"Ergh," the twins said.

"Horrid, place," Fred said.

"Now Zonkos," George said.

"Is brilliant," all three older boys said together.

"A joke shop," Hermione said incredulously. "I'd much rather go to a teahouse. Wouldn't you, Harry?" Everyone focused on him. "Well wouldn't you?"

"Maybe," Harry said.

The twins laughed. "Oh, man," Fred said – at least Harry thought it was Fred still. The twins had moved around a bit and he'd lost track.

"You two are in trouble," George teased. "You're out numbered."

Lee gave a shudder. "Glad I'm not one of you. That place is fru-fru."

Luna was scowling at the older boys. "Just because you three have no class is no reason Harry and Neville won't like it."

The three boys laughed. "Good luck on that," George said. "Come on, let's leave these poor sods to their fate before we get roped into it."

"Too right," Fred and Lee agreed. In short order they were gone and finally they were alone again.

"Well, I'm going to go see Daphne for a while," Ginny said.

"May I come with you?" Luna asked.

"Erm," Ginny said, "sure, if you like." She glanced at Hermione. "Would you like to come?"

"No thank you," Hermione said. "I want to read ahead for potions again."

"Alright then." Ginny and Luna left, leaving Harry with Hermione and Neville.

"Could you try any less?" Harry asked once the door had closed and they'd been gone for a few seconds.

"I don't trust her," Hermione snapped back.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Fine." He slumped in the corner. "I'm going to take a nap."

"Finally," Neville sighed. He shifted and soon drifted off. Harry followed him not long after. As the train moved further north the rain they'd started the day with picked up. Despite it still being early afternoon the sky darkened enough that the lanterns flickered on. The train trundled on, the rain hammered and the wind screamed past, but Hermione read on while the two boys slept.

* * *

Author's notes:

A bit shorter, but this was the best place to break it.

Poor Harry, caught in that massive pool of estrogen. Frankly, I figure if the boy can navigate that, Voldemort will be a piece of cake.


	10. Chapter 10

Standard disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR. Except where I might use some song lyrics which I will call out at the time and give proper credit. Thank you JKR for letting us play with your toys.

I will continue to use the occasional song lyric in the story and will give credit at the time when needed.

This is the fourth book in my Slytherin Harry series. And I'm departing from reusing JKR's title because too much of the story has changed. I'll leave it up to all of you to decide just who the Blood Traitor's Daughter is. In my mind there is more than one candidate.

Book 1: Harry Potter and the Muggle's Daughter

Book 2: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Book 3: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Book 4: Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor's Daughter.

If you haven't read books 1-3 you won't know what's going on. But the bonus is you've got three completed books before you even get to this one!

And last, the disappointing bits.

First, because the site gives me such difficulty uploading, I've adjusted my writing to make things easier and made chapters generally shorter than in the past I try to keep things at about 5000 words because it just works best.

Second, to ensure I keep the production of new material ahead of the pace of my posting I'm afraid I have to go to every other week. I'm sorry, but I'm doing the best I can.

* * *

 **HARRY POTTER AND THE BLOOD TRAITOR'S DAUGHTER**

 **CHAPTER X**

 **Lucy**

* * *

Harry woke with a start. He noted the lanterns and the dark sky. "We must be nearly there," he said stretching.

"Hardly," Hermione said. "It's only half two." The words had barely left her mouth when the train gave a lurch and began to slow.

"Then why are we stopping?" Harry asked.

Hermione double-checked her watch. "We're not due in till half five." But the train continued to slow. Hermione closed her book.

Neville jerked awake. "Wazat?"

"We're stopping," Harry said.

Neville frowned. "Are we th–there already?" he yawned.

"We can't be it's only half two," Hermione said.

"Then what—" The train gave another lurch as it came to a hard stop. Harry's bag fell from the overhead bin and landed on his head.

"Ow! Bloody hell!"

"Harry," Hermione complained.

"Well it hurt." Harry got up, stuffed his bag back in the bin and opened the door to their compartment. All along the corridor heads were sticking curiously out of their compartments.

"There's s–something outside," Neville said.

Harry moved to peer out the window with him. "Think we've broken down?" he asked. It was very hard to see with it being so dark and the rain pouring down, and without the noise of the train the wind was really howling outside their window.

"Not sure," Neville said. There was a bang and the whole carriage shook. "I think someone might be coming on. Another bang and the lanterns went dark.

Harry whipped around to stare at the fading ember of light. "Wands," he growled through gritted teeth. "Lumos."

"Where are you going?" Hermione hissed when he moved to the door.

"Ginny and Luna are out there."

"Harry, we really shouldn't—

"Come on," Harry cut her off.

"Harrrry," Hermione hissed.

"Not now," he snapped. Daphne had been in a compartment only one carriage from theirs and he was quickly there.

Daphne was peering into the corridor. "Harry?"

"Where are Ginny and Luna?"

"We're here, Harry," Luna said.

"Good, everyone in," Harry ordered. He made way for Hermione and Neville to slip past him before sliding the door closed.

"What's going on?" Daphne hissed.

"No idea," Harry answered, "But whatever it is, isn't right."

"I need to get to my sister."

"We should stay here," Hermione said.

"I am not leaving my sister," Daphne hissed back. There was another bang that shook the whole carriage and a number of screams were heard. "I'm going," Daphne said and reached for the door. She recoiled as it slid open and a cloaked figure that towered to the ceiling floated in the opening. Its face was completely hidden by its hood. Harry's eyes traveled down whatever it was, what he saw made his stomach contract. There was a hand protruding from the cloak; it was glistening, grayish, slimy-looking and scabbed, like something that had been decaying in water for a long time. Harry's eyes widened in dawning horror. What the hell was a Dementor doing on the train!

Daphne whimpered and stumbled back into Harry. Harry shoved her to the side and reached to shut the door. The Dementor caught it and held it open. "Help Me!" Harry cried. But then the Dementor drew a long, slow, rattling breath, as though it were trying to suck something more than air from its surroundings.

Burning cold swept over them all. Harry's breath caught in his chest. He had never felt cold like this. It went beyond his skin, inside his chest into his very heart… He was drowning in cold. There was rushing in his ears as though of water and he was being dragged downward, the roaring growing louder…

And then, from far away, he heard a screaming, terrible, terrified, pleading screams. He wanted to help whoever it was… But then he was six and being whipped with a leather strap… He was on his knees pleading for help as he stared at Kaa's mangled body… He was in the darkened hospital wing staring in horror at Hermione's petrified body on the bed… Ginny was screaming and collapsing in Defense… Ginny was pale and cold as ice on the floor in the Chamber of Secrets—

"Harry! Harry! Are you alright?"

Someone was slapping his face. He blinked his eyes open. Somewhere in the recesses of his mind he registered the lanterns were lit and the train was moving again.

"W–What… Ginny!" He forced his way up, past the hands reaching at him. "Where is she?" He spotted her on the floor opposite him looking as bad as he felt with Daphne and Luna tending to her. He crawled to Ginny and pulled her into his arms.

"I killed her," she whimpered.

"It wasn't you," he soothed.

"I killed her."

"It was _him,_ " Harry hissed. He glanced up. The others were all watching him with frightened eyes. He focused on Hermione. "Get me some chocolate. And make sure that door is locked."

"I have some," Daphne said. She grabbed her bag and dug in it.

"It is," Hermione assured him.

"Here!" Daphne broke the bar of chocolate in half and shoved it at him. Harry didn't bother with even taking it from her and just ate it from her hand. Blessed warmth seemed to ooze from his mouth, down his throat and into his body as he chewed and swallowed.

"I killed her," Ginny whimpered, trembling in his arms.

"See if you can get her to eat some," Harry ordered.

"Ginny," Daphne said.

Luna knelt down and took a piece of the chocolate. "Let me. Ginevra, open up."

"I ki—" Luna shoved the chocolate in and then held her hand over Ginny's mouth.

"Come on, Ginny," Harry urged. He bent down by her ear. "Just swallow." Eventually she did. "More," Harry said. "Give it all to her." He focused on Daphne. "Do you have more?"

She shook her head. "No."

Harry turned to Neville. "Go get my bag."

"R–Right." Hermione unlocked the door and he slipped out.

"Here you go, Ginevra," Luna urged. She continued to break off small bits of chocolate and push them past Ginny's lips.

Neville was back with his bag in less than a minute. Hermione slid the door shut and locked it again. "I can't find any," he said.

"Just dump it," Harry said. Neville did, emptying far more from the bag than one would have thought it could possibly hold, including an entire case of chocolate frogs. "Pass them out," Harry said. With everyone eating – Hermione had opened a frog and fed it to him because Ginny had a death grip on his hand – and Luna continuing to push slivers of chocolate past Ginny's lips, Harry asked, "What happened?"

"Y–You p–passed out – out m–mate," Neville said, clearly shaken enough that his stutter had come back nearly full force.

Harry resisted the urge to yell at him. "Yeah, I know. What happened after? What made the thing go away?"

"We managed to get the door closed," Hermione said.

"It still didn't want to go away and we could here lots of screaming," Luna said.

"Then there was a really bright flash," Daphne said. When I looked up again it was gone. The train started moving again a few minutes later… Oh my god, Astoria!" She whirled around to the door. "Let me out!" she cried when it wouldn't open. Hermione quickly waved her wand and Daphne was out the door and gone. Hermione slid it closed.

"No, go with her," Harry said.

"I'm not leaving you."

"Fine, Neville you go. Bring them all back."

"R–Right." Neville quickly hurried after Daphne.

"Harry," Hermione warned, "they can't know the truth."

"Then we won't talk about it." She glared at him. "Daphne is our friend, Hermione," Harry snapped. "That means we take care of her, her sister and her sister's friends."

"You're going to regret this."

"No, you are, if you don't stop." Hermione pursed her lips angrily but said nothing more. Neville and Daphne returned with Astoria and her friends a few minutes later. Luna was still feeding Ginny slivers of chocolate and though she had recovered enough to actively take them from her, she retained a death grip on Harry's hand. The tingly feeling was coursing stronger than ever and Harry desperately hoped when she came out of it fully she wouldn't retreat from him further because she felt threatened by her seeming dependence on him now.

The four newcomers shifted nervously at the sight of them. "Sit there," Daphne instructed them, pointing to one of the benches. They did as told and she handed each of them a frog. "Eat this." Neville and Hermione moved to sit on the other bench.

"I'm not hungry," Astoria protested.

"I did not ask, Astoria," Daphne said. "You have been exposed to Dementors. Chocolate is the treatment for this, now eat."

"Is that's what's wrong with her?"

" _She_ has a name, Astoria."

"Is that what's wrong with, Ginny?"

"Dementors make you relive your worst memories," Luna said, feeding Ginny another bit of chocolate. "Last spring a dark wizard tried to murder her. She spent weeks in hospital recovering." She turned to the four girls. "Imagine how you might feel if you were made to relive that… Now eat."

The four girls complied, each regaining a bit of colour as they did. Daphne squatted down in front of Astoria. "Anything you might see or hear while you are here, you must keep secret." She glanced at the other girls. "All of you. I invoke the vows you families have made to mine in this."

"You don't have the authority to do that," Gwyneth challenged.

"Oh, but I do, Gwyneth," Daphne countered. "It is to my family all yours have sworn allegiance. If you go against my instructions I shall tell my father and I promise you, he _will_ find your family to be at fault of breaking that allegiance."

"Daphne," Harry said.

She turned. "Yes?"

"That's the old way."

"But—"

Harry focused on the four girls. "You can be my friend or you can not. We're asking you not to say anything about what you've seen or heard. It's up to you to decide. But you need to know that once you break someone's trust it is almost impossible to earn it again."

"Shishong says you're not afraid of Draco Malfoy," Xui said.

"I'm not."

"What about his father?"

Harry snorted. "Lucy? No, I'm not afraid of him either."

Daphne turned from where she was squatted in front of her sister so quickly she fell on her bum. She righted herself with as much dignity as she could muster. "You did not just call Lord Lucius Malfoy, Lucy!"

Harry shrugged. "Called him Lucy to his face in Diagon Alley last year."

She stared at him incredulously. "I don't believe you."

"I swear on Hermione's life I did."

"Harry!" Hermione cried.

"What?" Harry demanded. "You were there. You know it's true."

"Well yes, but still, I'd appreciate you not swearing on my life."

"Fine, I swear mphlhhff."

Luna clamped a hand over his mouth. "Do not tempt the gods, Harry Potter." She waited a second, her eyes boring into his, before removing her hand.

"Sorry."

"Apologize to Hermione."

"Right," he agreed. "I'm Sorry, Hermione. I shouldn't have done that."

"Thank you."

"Unbelievable," Daphne muttered. "He calls Lucius Malfoy, Lucy to his face and _she_ cows him into apologizing for swearing on the truth."

"It's really true?" Anwen asked. "You called Lord Malfoy… Lucy?" she asked, barely even whispering the name.

"Yes," Hermione confirmed.

"We won't say a word, Harry," Gwyneth said.

"We swear," Astoria said.

"Thank you," Harry said. He turned his attention back to Ginny, resisting the urge to stroke his fingers through her hair like his mum had him so many times. She was quiet now. Every once in a while Luna would offer her a bit more chocolate and she would take it.

"I'm going to see if anyone knows what happened," Hermione said.

"Neville, will you go with her?" Harry asked.

"Sure."

For the second year in a row, Harry didn't hear a word of the Sorting Hat's song. As if it weren't enough having passed out from the effects of the Dementor, he had been able to see the thestrals that pulled the carriages from Hogsmeade station to the school. The large, horse-like creatures with leathery skin and massive, bat-like, wings were as creepy as they were described and he was left to wonder just why he could see them now. Certainly he'd seen death. That was the theory about them. You had to have seen and understand death in order to be able to see them. A troll, Professor Quirrell, a Basilisk, the shade of sixteen-year-old Tom Riddle and Kaa; frankly, now he was recovered from the sight, he wondered exactly why it had taken so long.

Ginny had been able to see them as well. Her list included Sandra. She had stood there trembling for a good long couple of minutes with Luna quietly whispering to her before she had gently guided Ginny to the beast – apparently she could see them as well – and introduced them. It turned out they were quite gentle. A detail Harry realized he should have known simply by the fact they were used to pull the carriages. Hermione, Daphne and Neville hadn't been able to see the beasts though and he'd been pondering why ever since. He didn't know about Daphne, but Hermione had seen both the troll and Kaa killed. And Neville, forget simply seeing the basilisk killed, Neville had been the one to kill the Horcrux. So why couldn't either of them see the thestrals?

Professor McGonagall, calling the name Coleen Adler, roused him from his thoughts long enough to hear the girl sorted into Ravenclaw. He quickly searched out Astoria, Anwen, Xui and Gwyneth. He'd been nearly as loath to let the four out of his site as Daphne when Hagrid had called for first-years to follow him to the boats for the ride across the Black Loch. Seriously, Dementors supposedly searching for Peter Pettigrew had boarded the train. Apparently all those excited students were too much temptation for a few of them and they'd started to feed. The aurors had needed to cast Patronus Charms to clear them off. What if one of the foul beasts got loose and went after the first-years while they were crossing the lake? Somehow Harry didn't think Hagrid would be able to drive the creature off. Harry let out a breath when he found the four grouped towards the back of the mass of incoming students. By the goddess, if today was any indication of how the year was going to go he wasn't sure how he was going to survive!

He glanced at Ginny out of the corner of his eye. She was sat between himself and Daphne and hadn't said a word since leaving the carriage behind except to tell them she wasn't going to the bloody damn hospital wing; especially since rumors were flying that both she and Harry had passed out from the Dementors. How the hell anyone knew was beyond him. None of the four first-years even knew they'd passed out and he trusted none of the others would say anything. Someone must have seen them through the window before they'd woken. He really hoped Hermione wouldn't blame Daphne for it.

Hermione; he was going to have to talk to her. Once she had understood just why Harry had ended up in Slytherin, it had taken his best friend a while to really warm up to Ginny. But her jealousy issues then were nothing as compared to now. It was a bit different though. Now she was jealous that Ginny had made a friend outside of the original foursome they had been. It was silly really; she had been the first to make friends with Neville. Mrs Tonks said the problem wasn't so much that Ginny had made a friend outside of the tight-knit group they had been but that Ginny was pulling away from them while doing so. But things had seemed better recently with Ginny so Hermione's continued attitude was beginning to irk him.

"Astoria Greengrass," Professor McGonagall called.

Harry looked up. He'd already missed Xui being sorted. A glance down the table confirmed she'd joined Slytherin House. He returned his attention to Astoria. It was uncanny just how much she looked like Ginny; even the spray of freckles across her face was near exactly the same, though Ginny had perhaps a slightly heavier concentration on the left side of her forehead while Astoria did so on her right. Still, it would take actually knowing them to know that not only were they not identical twins, but that they were not even sisters.

"Hufflepuff!" the Sorting Hat announced.

Harry blinked in shock before glancing at Daphne. The blonde had recovered quicker than he, or perhaps hadn't been surprised at all by her sister's sorting. She sat, regally straight and tall and met Astoria's gaze across the hall. A single nod of her head and Astoria was able to return a weak smile. Astoria moved to the Hufflepuff table where she took a seat with the rest of the small group of other first-years who had been sorted before her. Harry couldn't help but to notice the difference between Daphne's reaction and that of Ginny's brothers to her sorting. Granted, Astoria hadn't been placed in the house of Slytherin's mortal enemy, Gryffindor, but she had, through no fault of her own, failed to uphold her family history. What difference would have been made if Ginny's brothers and mother had shown her the kind of loyalty Harry was certain Daphne would Astoria.

Internally, Harry fumed at the tradition of sorting students. He had insisted on being in Slytherin, but he was pretty certain the Sorting Hat could have placed him there without his demanding it. He was as driven as anyone in his year and not without a bit of cunning in his character. But he was also, modesty aside, quite intelligent. If brains were all it took to be in Ravenclaw, then his marks as one of the top four students in his year should have seen him placed there. And what about loyalty, or hard work? If those were the marks of a Hufflepuff, hadn't he shown those character traits in spades? Bravery, the mark of Gryffindors, he figured he'd shown that trait as well.

No, for all the stupid hat sang about unity of the houses, the sorting seemed to do nothing but divide them; permanently labeling them all before they had even had a chance to show just what they were made of.

And if the tradition of sorting the students had to be maintained, then, at the least, why keep Slytherin House at all? The man had broken with the other Founders, betrayed them and the ideals the school had been founded on when he'd been consumed by his ambition and subsequent decent into Dark Magic. How did he remain an Ideal for a good portion of the wizarding world of the UK to aspire to? No, if it were up to him, he'd bin the Sorting Hat, and randomly sort the students each and every year, ensuring they intermingled with everyone who attended the school. He didn't know if it would work and quidditch could obviously be an issue – but something could be worked out so four teams were created from the student body; maybe a draft or something of the sort. Whatever, he thought most anything would be better than the current system and its ingrained prejudices.

Polite applause announced the sorting of Joseph Witten into Gryffindor and the end of the sorting for the year. The brown haired boy made his way to his new house while Professor McGonagall sent the stool and Hat away for another year. Dumbledore stood and spread his arms. "If you are returning to us, welcome back. If this is your first time joining us, welcome to Hogwarts… Let the feast, begin."

The tables filled with dishes and wonderful scents wafted into the air. Harry sighed happily. Whatever Hogwarts' faults, the food was not one of them. He reached for the roast beef and filled his plate before offering it to Ginny. "No thank you," she said quietly. Harry set the platter down. "What would you like?"

"I'm really not hungry."

"So you're just going to eat dessert again?"

She glanced at him. "Again?"

"Well, it's all you've eaten at the feast both first and second-year. I'm starting to think you're making it a tradition."

Ginny gave a small huff followed by a humorless laugh. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up, Harry." She took a small piece of chicken, some beans and potatoes, but other than a bite or two just pushed her meal around her plate. Harry said nothing but made certain to snag the chocolate cake for her the second it appeared. But even that she didn't eat with her normal enthusiasm. Harry wasn't so put off and finished off two servings of strawberry shortcake and was contemplating a slice of cherry pie when things went down hill on them.

"Potter!" Harry sighed deeply while wondering just how long he could pretend to ignore the git. "Is it true, Potter," Draco taunted, "did you really pass out?"

Harry focused on the bane of Slytherin House. His ever-present gang of sycophants were arrayed behind him. He was obviously trying to bury the rumors that the two of them were gay in the waste bin of old news. Harry wasn't about to let him get off that easy though. "Well of course I did, Drac," he said pitching his voice to make it sound all breathy. "You weren't there to protect me. You know how I feel so safe when you're around."

Daphne snorted, which Harry made mental note to remind her of constantly, before laughing outright. "Potter, you are unbelievable."

"You better watch yourself, Greengrass," Draco snarled. "Your family isn't exactly in the good graces of true Slytherins, is it? Explains why your sister was sorted into the loser house."

"Draco," Daphne sighed disdainfully, "instead of feeling like you are suddenly in a position to threaten me, you should be asking yourself just what has changed that my father no longer fears openly declaring our family to the Light." She glared at him with her icy blue eyes. "The reason the Dark Lord was cautious in dealing with my father remains, Draco. You would be wise to ask just what that reason is."

"Are you threatening me?"

"I do believe that I am," she said. Draco glared at her, his face red with rage. Daphne made a little shooing motion with her hand. "Off with you now. Go on, back to whatever rock you crawled out from under."

"How dare you—" Whatever Draco was going to say was interrupted by Dumbledore standing and calling for everyone's attention. "Watch you back, Greengrass," Draco hissed.

"Back at you, Drac," Harry said cheerily. Draco sneered at him but turned his attention to the headmaster.

"Now, as I trust everyone is filled to the gills from our most excellent feast I have a few start of term announcements. He turned to his right. "First, I am pleased to announce that Remus Lupin has agreed to join our staff as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor." Harry joined the polite round of applause welcoming his honorary uncle. Remus raised his hand thanking them. "Good luck to you, Professor," Dumbledore said with a smile. The old man then turned to his left and motioned at Hagrid. "Second, I am very pleased to announce that our own Rubeus Hagrid will be taking up the post of Care of Magical Creatures professor for first through third-years. Harry quirked an eye. He was rather under the impression one needed to be a qualified witch or wizard to be a professor; Hagrid wasn't. Still, he joined in the polite applause afforded the giant of a man. It really didn't matter to him; he was no longer going to be taking Care of Magical Creatures. "Good luck to you, Professor," Dumbledore said as the applause died down. "Moving on, Mr. Filch has added another thirteen items to the list of those banned. I shall leave it to each of you to stop by his office and read the entire list which is posted on his door."

He paused before taking a deep breath and going on. "Last, I must bring your attention to a matter of utmost seriousness. As you are no doubt aware, the dementors of Azkaban conducted a search of the Hogwarts Express." Harry couldn't help shuddering and beside him Ginny stiffened. "Hogwarts School shall continue to play host to a number of dementors on a matter of Ministry of Magic business—" Harry's jaw dropped. He was insane. He had to be. But for Snape, the look Dumbledore was getting from all of his staff said they felt much the same way. "— They are to be stationed at every entrance to the grounds," Dumbledore went on, "and while they are with us, I must make plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises – or even Invisibility Cloaks." Harry felt eyes on him from a number of places around the hall. Sure enough, Luna, Hermione and Remus were all looking at him. "It is not in the nature of a dementor to be merciful. They are not to be swayed by pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors."

"Albus," Professor McGonagall said, climbing to her feet. "You cannot mean to allow this!"

Dumbledore held his hand up. "Heads will join me in my office once you have settled your students." Professor McGonagall slowly retook her seat. Dumbledore returned his attention to the students. "You are dismissed."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

"He did what!" Lily shrieked. Amelia Bones nearly cringed. Even without magic, Lily Potter was a force to be wary of. And to be fair, her reaction on finding out had been nearly the same. But her hands were tied. Since she had successfully blamed Fudge, in the public's eye, for the escape of Peter Pettigrew, the man had been desperate to make it look like he was doing something to recapture him. Though she would never have dreamed he would be so foolhardy as to perpetrate the insanity of posting dementors to Hogwarts. The happy emotions of children to dementors would be like dangling raw meet in front of a dragon. Two of them had started to feed in the short time they'd been on the train! The second she had found out what he'd done, she had issued orders to remove the dementors from the school but Fudge had used the loophole that Pettigrew was a war criminal to invoke the special wartime privileges of his office to countermand her order to countermand. Even Dumbledore was powerless in getting them removed. He could keep them off the grounds of Hogwarts, but could do nothing if Fudge chose to station them just outside the entrances to the school. "And Dumbledore agreed!"

"Dumbledore's authority ends at the edge of the grounds," Amelia sighed. "If Fudge wants to post dementors just outside the entrances there's nothing he can do about it."

Lily stared at her. "What do we do?"

"We use the press," she said. "A nice story about the danger Fudge has placed our children in. Honestly, we might be able to bury him with this."

"And the children?" Andromeda asked. "At what point do we say enough is enough and withdraw them?"

Lily exchanged looks with Bill, Mali, David and Anders. "We trust you, Lily," Mali said.

"They're not on the grounds right?" Bill asked.

"Dumbledore assured me he wouldn't allow them on the grounds," Amelia said. "And Hogwarts' wards are more than capable of keeping them out. Whatever our issues with the old goat, he actually seemed a bit shaken by Fudge's actions. His puppet isn't nearly so controllable as he'd thought he'd be."

Lily moved to stand in front of the map that hung on the wall of the parlour. To her eyes it remained a blank sheet of parchment but Sirius, Remus and Ted had finally managed to get it to work over the distance between the school and the Briar Patch. She had debated with herself for countless hours if it was right to constantly monitor them, but the events of the last few years led her to decide it was necessary. She would just have to turn a blind eye when they eventually began engaging in certain activities. "Can we put an alarm on it that will alert us if the dementors enter the grounds?"

"I should be able to," Sirius said.

"And you can connect it to the bracelets?"

"Sure."

"Dumbledore wants Remus to try and get closer to Harry," she mused. "What better excuse for that than teaching them the Patronus Charm."

"You intend to teach thirteen year-olds the Patronus Charm?" Anders asked incredulously.

Lily turned to him. "I intend not only for them to learn it, but fully expect they will accomplish the task by the time they come home for Christmas."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Daphne sat cross-legged on Ginny's bed facing her friend. "Are you going to tell me what, 'I killed her.' means?" she asked. Ginny shuddered. "Ginny?" Daphne pressed.

"I killed my brother's fiancée," Ginny whispered.

Daphne tipped her head. "Perhaps you might start at the beginning?"

Ginny picked at the duvet. She drew breath a number of times intending to start but somehow not being able to get the words out before she finally managed to it. "I'll understand if you don't want to be my friend anymore," she whispered when she'd finished and Daphne had simply sat staring at her.

Daphne reached out and pulled Ginny down into her lap. "I'll keep you safe tonight." Ginny clutched her hand tightly.

* * *

Author's notes.

You just know old Lucy hasn't forgotten that little insult.


	11. Chapter 11

Standard disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR. Except where I might use some song lyrics which I will call out at the time and give proper credit. Thank you JKR for letting us play with your toys.

I will continue to use the occasional song lyric in the story and will give credit at the time when needed.

This is the fourth book in my Slytherin Harry series. And I'm departing from reusing JKR's title because too much of the story has changed. I'll leave it up to all of you to decide just who the Blood Traitor's Daughter is. In my mind there is more than one candidate.

Book 1: Harry Potter and the Muggle's Daughter

Book 2: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Book 3: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Book 4: Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor's Daughter.

If you haven't read books 1-3 you won't know what's going on. But the bonus is you've got three completed books before you even get to this one!

And last, the disappointing bits.

First, because the site gives me such difficulty uploading, I've adjusted my writing to make things easier and made chapters generally shorter than in the past I try to keep things at about 5000 words because it just works best.

Second, to ensure I keep the production of new material ahead of the pace of my posting I'm afraid I have to go to every other week. I'm sorry, but I'm doing the best I can.

* * *

 **HARRY POTTER AND THE BLOOD TRAITOR'S DAUGHTER**

 **CHAPTER XI**

 **Planning Something**

* * *

Orientation day being mostly set aside for first-year students to familiarize themselves to the school found Harry and his five friends heading to Remus' office directly after breakfast. Remus eyed the group. "Well, I must say this is a bit of a surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure of being visited by Hogwarts' best and brightest?"

"We want to learn the Patronus Charm," Hermione answered.

Remus quirked an eye before chuckling softly. "Yes, I'm sure you do. Funnily enough I received orders regarding that last night."

"I'm surprised we weren't just withdrawn," Harry said.

"Believe me, it was considered," Remus agreed.

"I thought the man was daft first-year with the Stone," Harry said. "What the hell is he thinking?"

"In this case," Remus said, "Dumbledore is actually innocent. It's Fudge who sent them here. Dumbledore won't let them on the grounds and he was strengthening the wards against them for most of the night."

"Well that's a relief," Luna said. "I was beginning to think he was suffering from a Borneo Borer."

"Borneo Borer?" Daphne asked.

Luna turned to her. "Don't tell me you don't know what a Borneo Borer is?"

"I'm sorry, I don't."

Luna glanced at the others but they all shook their heads. Luna huffed. "Honestly, it's a wonder you lot manage to survive at all… It's a small, larvae-like grub that enters your ear while you're swimming and bores its way into your brain. It's known to cause early senility and questionable decision-making. You should each have beet salad at lunch. It's the only known way to deal with an infestation."

"And if we don't happen to be infected?" Hermione asked.

"Well then you've just had a lovely salad, haven't you?" Luna answered.

A short silence settled on the group. "A good point, Luna," Remus said. "But back to the point." He slid a note across the desk to Harry. "That's for the restricted section. The book you're looking for is, Dealing with the Demented by Elrond Prang. That will give you the theory behind the Patronus Charm. The other thing I want each of you to do is to spend some time thinking of your happiest memory ever. It needs to be strong and just thinking about it should bring you back to that exact moment."

"That's what we use to power the charm, correct?" Hermione asked.

"It is," Remus agreed. "I will find a time when we can meet to begin practicing next week. Meanwhile, I have a boatload of work to get done and you lot are preventing me doing just that so I shall kindly ask you to, Get - Out."

It didn't take long for the group to collect the book Remus had directed them to and from there they made their way outside to enjoy the nice weather before the immanent onset of another Highlands' winter drove them indoors for months on end. They found a nice spot back by the greenhouses that promised the possibility none of the various feuds that wouldn't leave Harry alone would find them and settled in. Harry flopped on his back with his arm over his eyes. "What do you suppose the chances are we're no longer grouped with Malfert?" he asked.

"Slim and none," Daphne answered. "I just hope that at least one of you will be in class with me."

"Can you imagine if we all had Potions together?" Hermione asked.

"Snape'd have an aneurism on the spot," Harry said.

"One certainly does dream, don't they?" Luna said.

"Let's not talk about Snape," Neville said. "I've got at least till tomorrow before I have to deal with him and I'd rather not ruin today."

"Very true, Neville," Luna agreed.

"How is your sister, Daphne?" Hermione asked. "Have you had a chance to talk with her yet?"

Daphne looked mildly surprised that Hermione had addressed her. "I only saw her a few moments this morning before Professor McGonagall called them away for their tour of the school. She was upset to have disappointed our family, and me. I assured her she had done no such thing. To be honest, Astoria probably isn't very well suited for Slytherin; she's too kind hearted and not yet well equipped to handle the ruthlessness. I expect, once she sees mother and father aren't disappointed in her; she will do well in Hufflepuff. She will be pleased to know you were concerned for her. Thank you for asking."

"You're welcome," Hermione said a bit awkwardly. "Daphne, I'm sorry, I'm afraid I haven't been very fair to you. I've been getting yelled at for it, believe me. I just… well, it's hard to explain, but maybe we could try to start over."

Luna leaned over and kissed Hermione's cheek. "I like this you much better than the jealous version." Luna then lay down with her head in Hermione's lap. "Oh, you make an even better pillow than I thought you would." Hermione turned molten.

Daphne eyed Luna for a second but then just decided to ignore the Ravenclaw. "I'd like that, Hermione," she answered.

Hermione smiled. "Thank you, Daphne." She then focused on Ginny. "I'm afraid I owe you an apology as well, Ginny. I really miss the friend you were though and I'd like to be friends with you again."

Ginny held her eyes. "I'm sorry too, Hermione. I know I hurt you. I'm trying to be a better friend. It's just… it's really hard."

Luna reached for Ginny's hand. "I have faith in you, Ginevra. You'll be fine."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

September first was Wednesday. Thursday was orientation day. Friday was the first day of classes. And Harry decided he was well and truly cursed. "Urgh," he moaned, "please tell me I'm not the only one who has double potions first thing."

Neville cringed. "Oh, bad luck, Mate."

"I've got, Arithmancy first thing," Luna said.

"Me as well," Hermione said.

Harry glanced hopefully at Ginny and Daphne. "Sorry, Harry," Daphne said, "I've got Transfiguration first."

"I'm in Transfiguration as well," Ginny said.

Harry frowned. "We're in different groups?"

"Looks that way," Daphne said.

"But that means you won't have any classes with each other at all," Hermione said.

"We'll still have Astronomy together," Daphne said. "And Arithmancy and Ancient Runes should be together as well. They typically group all the students of two houses together for those."

"Let me see your schedule," Harry said, reaching for Hermione's. But the bell signaling they had ten minutes to get to class rang and Harry decided he could compare their schedules later. He stood and grabbed his bag. "Well, if I don't see you third period, I'll see you at lunch."

Harry walked into potions wondering just which deity he'd pissed off. Not wanting to spend a second longer in the potions' classroom than he had to, he'd lurked in an alcove outside watching and waiting. Already cursing his luck to start with, Potions without any of his friends, salt had been poured into the wound with the appearance of Draco, Blaise, Gregory, Vincent and Pansy. Harry closed his eyes and mentally prepared himself; which mostly consisted of talking himself out of throwing himself from the astronomy tower. It was going to be a long year.

He entered the classroom seconds before the bell to find three students had yet to pair up at a table; Isobel MacDougal, and Mandy Brocklehurst of Ravenclaw and Zacharias Smith of Hufflepuff. Like the overgrown bat he was, Snape swooped from his office just as the bell rang. He waved his wand and Harry neatly ducked the spell. The door slammed shut and Harry straightened. He really wanted to say something about the man's aim being off but held his tongue on the off chance the git had undergone a lobotomy over the summer and would have a new disposition towards him. "Well, Potter," Snape sneered, "whose potion mark will you be ruining this year?"

 _Apparently not,_ Harry muttered. Well, if that's the way they were going to start the year, fine then. He had a plan in mind and it didn't include another year of the man's abuse. "Well you could assign me to work with Draco, Sir," Harry retorted. "One of us might actually learn something then."

"I am not working with Potter!" Draco spat.

"But Drac," Harry winged, "you promised me." He stomped his foot petulantly. A few of the non-Slytherins snickered.

"QUIT IMPLYING I'M GAY!" Draco roared.

"Silence," Snape drawled. Harry thought he detected a twitching of the man's eye.

"But, Sir!"

Snape rounded on Draco. "I said silence, Mr Malfoy." Harry smirked and took the moment to focus on Isobel. He knew she was decent at potions. He made a little motion with his finger, silently asking if she wanted to partner with him. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers and about as fast as one could say, No, she grabbed her bag and joined Mandy at her table.

Harry sighed, he hadn't had many classes with Zacharias, but he knew he wasn't a great student; either of the girls would have been a better partner. He moved to the table and took a seat as Snape turned back from berating Draco. "Potter get to your—"

"Yes, Sir?" Harry asked innocently.

"Detention, 6:30 tonight, my office."

"May I ask why, Sir?" Harry asked.

"For disturbing my class."

Things didn't improve from there and Harry spent a good portion of class berating himself for not keeping his mouth shut and the remainder wondering why he had decided against transferring to Beauxbatons. When he wasn't occupied with those thoughts he struggled to keep Zacharias from ruining their work. The boy was at least as bad at potions as Neville had been and Harry was hard pressed to correct him and keep them on proper course. If his plans didn't work out it really would be a miserable year.

He watched morbidly as his partner mangled the mandrakes he was supposed to be dicing. Still, the boy had never said a word to him and it couldn't hurt to at least try to get along with him. "So do you like to be called by your full name or do you prefer Zach?" he asked. The boy slipped and cut his finger, quite badly.

"Potter!" Snape snarled swooping down on them. "Detention tomorrow as well."

"For what?" Harry demanded.

"For distracting your partner." Harry sighed. Apparently it could hurt to try and make friends; for Zacharias literally.

* * *

Hermione was in a far different place than Harry. It was hard to be disappointed that she had Arithmancy and Ancient Runes with Ravenclaw instead of Slytherin when it meant she would be in the same class as Luna. Even better, she had been put in the same group in Gryffindor with Neville, which meant she shared every class but for Arithmancy with him. And Arithmancy had been just as interesting as she'd hoped it would be. She could hardly wait for her first class in Ancient Runes.

Over the summer Ginny had borrowed her the books Bill had sent her and she was very much looking forward to trying to close the gap between herself and the redhead. Ginny had spent so much time studying the books Bill sent her she knew thousands of runes and their many variations. It was very exacting; sometimes just a tiny little tick that went left instead of right was the only difference between one rune and the next. Something that small could be the difference between discovering a curse that would take your head off or a charm to do the washing up. It was fascinating.

But it was lunch now and she could hardly wait to see Harry and compare their schedules in depth. Only Harry wasn't at their accustomed place at the Ravenclaw table, nor was he sitting with Ginny and Daphne and Daphne's group of friends at the Slytherin table. Feeling a bit concerned, she sat down with Luna and Neville and nervously kept an eye on the doors. Unfortunately Harry never showed and he wasn't in any of her afternoon classes either. Her concern slipped into overdrive when she walked into the Great Hall for dinner and he wasn't there. Ginny and Daphne were already sitting with Luna at the Ravenclaw table so she hurried over with Neville following.

"Has anyone seen Harry?" she asked.

"Hello, Hermione," Ginny said, "it's nice to see you too."

Hermione glowered at her. "Why yes, Ginny, it is nice to see you. Perhaps you might have noticed Harry wasn't at lunch. As Neville and I shared all but Arithmancy and Care of Magical Creatures today, I know he hasn't seen him either. The only class Luna, didn't share with us was when she had Care of Magical Creatures instead of Transfiguration and Harry isn't taking that so I know she hasn't seen him. I also know you and Daphne are in a different group in Slytherin than he is this year and that neither of you had Runes or Arithmancy today, so I rather doubt you've seen him either. Which means none of us have seen him since breakfast. I understand you might be too occupied with some of the new friends you've made to not have noticed that little fact, but I, however, am a bit concerned that my best friend seems to be missing."

"Nice to know someone cares," Harry muttered and dropped into the seat beside her.

"I did so notice he wasn't at lunch today," Ginny snapped back.

"Where have you been?" Hermione demanded.

"Class," Harry answered. He reached for the chicken before adding potatoes and beans to his plate as well.

"Why weren't you at lunch?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because Snape's a git," Harry snapped. "Would you mind letting me eat; I'm due in detention in twenty minutes?"

"You've got detention already!"

Harry glowered at her and growled in a low voice. "Don't push me, Hermione."

She pursed her lips angrily. "Fine," she said and turned to her dinner. For ten minutes the only sounds were of forks and knives on plates as the six ate. Nervous glances were shot at Harry while angry looks were exchanged between Hermione and Ginny.

"I'm sorry," Harry said. Everyone stilled.

"Thank you," Hermione answered.

Harry glanced at the others, trying not to single Ginny out. She was plainly upset with Hermione and was probably justified in being so. At the same time, he understood where Hermione was coming from. Sometimes it was hard to tell if Ginny actually cared at all anymore. "Thanks for noticing I was missing, Hermione."

"Where were you?"

"Trying not to kill anyone."

"What happened?" Luna asked.

"Snape. I've got detention tonight and tomorrow."

"Tomorrow as well?" Daphne asked.

"What'd you do?" Neville asked.

Harry shrugged. "Well, I probably deserved the first one. The second one, apparently asking my partner if he prefers to be called Zacharias or Zach is too distracting for him. He cut the hell out of his hand and I got detention for it."

"Are you being serious?" Daphne asked.

"Do you really need to ask?" Harry countered.

"Harry," Hermione said, "you need to stop antagonizing him. You can't win and he's just going to make your life miserable."

Harry sighed. "He's just going to make my life miserable anyway."

"Harry—"

"I know, Hermione, you're right." He pushed his plate back. "I better get going." He dug in his bag and shoved his schedule at her. "I know I should have Arithmancy and Runes with Ginny and Daphne, but see if I have any other classes with any of you."

Frowning, Hermione took it from him. "Why?"

Harry stood. "Just a feeling." He was gone before any of them could say anything.

Hermione watched him go before turning back to the others. "Perhaps you'd like to apologize to Ginevra?" Luna suggested.

Hermione sighed and focused on the other girl. "I was wrong. I'm sorry."

Ginny nodded. "Thank you."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

By Monday, Harry's friends were a bit desperate to find some way of helping him. It very much looked like his schedule had been set to isolate him as much as possible. He, Ginny, Daphne and Hermione had taken all the same classes; Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Astronomy, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions, and Transfiguration. Luna and Neville had decided to continue with Care of Magical Creatures, with Luna dropping History to make room in her schedule while Neville had decided against Arithmancy. With all of that, one would have thought he would overlap with one of them somewhere along the way. But he had exactly zero classes with Hermione, Neville or Luna. The only classes he had friends in were the ones that placed all the Slytherins taking them together, Astronomy, Ancient Runes, and Arithmancy.

But the most damning bit was Harry's grouping within Slytherin. There were twenty-one Slytherins in Harry's year. If they were to be divided into four groups, one of those would have six as opposed to five members. But Harry could just as easily been placed with Ginny, Daphne, Shishong, Gavin, and Daemon Adams as opposed to Draco, Blaise, Gregory, Vincent and Pansy. In fact, if one wanted to reduce the possibility of trouble within the classroom, then placing Harry where he'd been was about the worst possible choice that could have been made. So why?

Making matters worse were the detentions Harry was being forced to serve. To be fair, his mouth had earned him the first one, but the following three were just Snape being the bully he was. Harry had little doubt he'd somehow earn another one tonight; probably for breathing too loudly.

"The solution is easy enough," Daphne said. "You simply have to decide if you're willing to go through with it."

"Go through with what?" Harry asked.

"Well, Professor Snape is never going to just switch your grouping because you ask him. You'll have to take it to the Headmaster."

"Joy," Harry muttered. "I can just imagine how fun class with Snape will be if Dumbledore forces him to switch me."

"And what if Dumbledore refuses to switch him?" Hermione asked. "Snape is still going to be worse than ever just because Harry complained."

"I think there's a way to guarantee the Headmaster will force Snape to switch you," Daphne said.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Threaten to transfer to Beauxbatons," Daphne said.

"Oh," Luna agreed, "that's a very good idea."

"Of course, if he calls your bluff, you could be in a really difficult spot," Daphne said.

"Who says I'd be bluffing?" Harry said. The bell rang, signaling they had ten minutes to get to their first class of the day. Harry grabbed his bag and climbed to his feet. "Thanks, guys, I'll see you at lunch." He wanted to tell them he had a plan, but didn't want to take any unnecessary risks. Neville especially was a concern. Frankly they expected Snape or Dumbledore had already tried to use Legilimency on him after the Chamber of Secrets. There was a good chance Dumbledore knew or suspected more than they wanted him to, but that didn't mean they weren't going to do everything they could to stop him confirming anything, or worse, learning more. Mrs Tonks had worked with Neville almost daily over the summer, but they had still resorted to placing a Guardian in his mind to protect him. It wasn't ideal, but until Neville could protect himself the Guardian was the best they could do.

Harry ducked in the toilet ten minutes before he was due to begin his fourth detention with Snape; unbelievable as it sounded, Snape had actually accused him of breathing too heavily when he'd been ordered to sit in silence and assigned him detention again. Harry quickly picked a stall and locked the door before pulling the note Ginny had given him from his pocket and unfolding it.

 _Harry,_

 _I saw that girl again. She was really upset. I guess she heard you might transfer out of Hogwarts. I really don't get her. I mean a person would have to be blind to not see the way she's treated you the last few months; well, really, it's more than a year she's been pretty much horrible to you. But then she gets all upset you might leave her behind and tries to tell me she'd follow you out the door. I mean honestly, whom does she think she's kidding?_

 _Seriously, Harry, you could do so much better. I haven't a clue what you see in her._

 _Ginny._

Harry read the note through a second time before folding it and stuffing it back in his pocket. That made for everyone but Daphne expressing they would likely follow him out the door if he did actually end up leaving the school. The thing was, Harry really didn't want to. Yes, there were times he did. Most of the rest of his classmates were blithering idiots, but he had friends here; really good friends. And while they might say they'd follow him, other than Hermione, he couldn't count on any of them being _allowed_ to do so. He also loved playing quidditch. He liked the connection wandering the same halls his father had gave him. He had groomed the perfect pranking accomplice in Peeves. He liked his professors. Well, except for Snape. But that went without saying. It really was a love/hate relationship he had with the place and he thought if he could just get Snape off his back he might actually really enjoy the year. Which was why he was willing to risk royally pissing his mum off.

Exactly thirty seconds before he was due to begin his detention, Harry walked in the door of the Potions' lab. He closed the door and crossed to stand in front of Snape's desk. "You are late."

"I don't believe that I am."

Snape sneered at him. "If I say you are late, then you are late, Potter. That will be detention again tomorrow night." The bell signaling the end of dinner rang. Harry had obviously not been late.

"Yes, Sir," Harry agreed. "I guess that wasn't the bell signaling the end of dinner which occurs at 6:30."

"Silence."

"Yes, Sir."

"Sit." Harry did as he was told. It was the same as the previous night. He sat and did nothing for three hours before being dismissed.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

It was Wednesday, two nights, later, and Harry's sixth detention in six days that he felt it. Snape was trying to enter his mind! Of course it wasn't anything new for Harry to detect an attack from the bastard. The man had done so numerous times over the past two years. Each time Snape tried he was just a bit better than before. But however good Snape might be at Occlumency, he wasn't as good at Legilimency as Mrs Tonks, and Harry had been able to detect him and fake a sudden headache to put him off. But over the summer Harry had redoubled his efforts at Occlumency with the intent of no longer faking it when Snape came at him. He didn't doubt Mrs Tonks, or worse, his mum would not approve. But then, figuring it was better to beg forgiveness, Harry hadn't asked permission. He was tired of Snape and the abuse and he had an idea to fix a great deal of his problems… permanently. And it started with encouraging Snape to come after him.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

"Harry," Hermione said, "will you please go to Professor McGonagall?" Today being the second Saturday of term marked his ninth straight detention. Snape had attacked him each of the last three nights. But Hermione didn't know that. He hadn't confided his plan to her either. Only one person had needed to know and she had agreed to try and spring their trap tonight. He just hoped he wouldn't be in too much trouble with his mum and Mrs Tonks when they found out.

"Just leave it, Hermione," Harry said.

"Harry, you've had detention every night."

Harry abruptly stood. Lying to Hermione was not something he enjoyed doing. "I've gotta go." He quickly left the Great Hall.

His friends watched him go. "He's planning something," Luna observed.

The others turned to her. "What do you mean?" Daphne asked.

"He's been to passive," Luna said. "If there's one thing I've learned about Harry it's that he never just takes anything. Which means he's planning something."

"But what?" Hermione asked.

Luna shrugged. "I've no idea. But I'm fairly certain Professor Snape won't like it."

Harry walked into the Potion's classroom just before the bell signaling the end of dinner. He stopped in front of Snape's desk and waited. "Late again, Potter," Snape drawled.

"I think we both know the answer to that, Sir."

"6:30 tomorrow," Snape drawled.

"Whatever."

"Sit."

Harry had been at his desk for only about thirty minutes before Snape attacked. For ten minutes Harry carefully trailed along behind the bastard. The man was nowhere near as good at this as he thought. Satisfied he had done enough, Harry slammed his Occlumency shields fully into place. Snape was forcefully expelled from his mind. He was tossed from his chair to land heavily on the floor where he lay dazed while Harry pulled his Communication Mirror from his pocket. "I have enough, Director. You can come in now."

The door of the classroom slammed open. Director Bones stalked in. She was accompanied by two aurors with wands drawn. One of the men was black, large and bald. The other being white, short and bald was his polar opposite. "Arrest him," Director Bones barked.

The two men moved quickly. "Incarcerous!" the first auror barked harshly.

"Expelliarmus!" the other auror snapped. Snape was trussed up in magical ropes while his wand went flipping through the air into the second auror's waiting hands.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!" Snape roared.

Amelia handed Harry a small phial and moved to stand over her raging prisoner. She pointed her wand at him. "Silencio," she hissed. His mouth snapped shut and she squatted down in front of him. Andromeda Tonks, returned to her true form after downing a Polyjuice Reversing Draught, moved next to her. "Severus Snape," Amelia said, her voice tightly controlled, "you are under arrest for the suspected rape, by use of Legilimency, of the mind of the minor, Harry Potter." Snape's eyes widened.

Andromeda used her foot to roll his head her direction. She might not have appreciated the manner in which her cooperation had been gained, but she was pleased with the result. "I do hope your vaunted Occlumency abilities are better than your Legilimency… Should that not be the case, I'm afraid you'll find the dementors quite difficult to deal with."

* * *

Author's notes:

Well, even I wasn't expecting this. But Harry decided he'd taken all he was going to take and there wasn't a thing I could do about it. I'm honestly hoping this doesn't come back to bite me by removing too much of the tension in the story too early. So far it is working, but we'll see.


	12. Chapter 12

Standard disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR. Except where I might use some song lyrics which I will call out at the time and give proper credit. Thank you JKR for letting us play with your toys.

I will continue to use the occasional song lyric in the story and will give credit at the time when needed.

This is the fourth book in my Slytherin Harry series. And I'm departing from reusing JKR's title because too much of the story has changed. I'll leave it up to all of you to decide just who the Blood Traitor's Daughter is. In my mind there is more than one candidate.

Book 1: Harry Potter and the Muggle's Daughter

Book 2: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Book 3: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Book 4: Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor's Daughter.

If you haven't read books 1-3 you won't know what's going on. But the bonus is you've got three completed books before you even get to this one!

And last, the disappointing bits.

First, because the site gives me such difficulty uploading, I've adjusted my writing to make things easier and made chapters generally shorter than in the past I try to keep things at about 5000 words because it just works best.

Second, to ensure I keep the production of new material ahead of the pace of my posting I'm afraid I have to go to every other week. I'm sorry, but I'm doing the best I can.

* * *

 **HARRY POTTER AND THE BLOOD TRAITOR'S DAUGHTER**

 **CHAPTER XII**

 **Stronger than the Fear**

* * *

"Lily?" Andromeda asked cautiously. While Amelia had work to do, she had gone directly to the Briar Patch after leaving Hogwarts to inform her friend of what had happened. It was plain Lily was angry. Just what she was angry about remained to be seen.

"Lils?" Sirius asked. With Remus taking up the position of Professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts at the school the only being capable of using magic left in the house was Simper. That left Lily too exposed for the rest of the Order's liking so Sirius had moved in. There were also David and Mali to consider. Apparating was fast, but they had all learned during the war that even seconds mattered and it was far safer for all involved with Sirius close at hand. Especially with the Rat running free.

"He told us," Lily whispered. She focused on Andi. "Didn't he?"

"He's been telling us since he started school," Andromeda agreed. She was no less affected by the thought she had let Harry down than Lily. "We just didn't listen."

A tear slid down Lily's cheek. "I've failed him."

"Lils," Sirius said.

"No," she cut him off. "I've been so afraid of antagonizing Dumbledore I let that bastard abuse my son for two years! Do you understand that? My son was abused his whole life and I couldn't protect him. And when I could, I just stood back and watched it happen. By doing nothing, I may as well have been the one abusing him! My son knew I wouldn't protect him! MY SON KNEW I WOULDN'T PROTECT HIM!" she screamed before collapsing to her knees in sobs.

"Lils," Sirius said gently. He tried to wrap an arm around her.

She shrugged away from him. "Don't," she said sharply.

"Alright," he agreed. He glanced at Andromeda.

"We'll give you some space," she said.

Lily didn't answer and the two quietly left. She remained hunched over on the floor and it was a long time before she managed to stop her body shaking. "He's afraid I'll be mad at him and I can't even look myself in the mirror," she whispered.

From his place leaning against the wall, Bill said, "Know the feeling." Lily shuddered, curling in a ball on her side. Bill quietly left.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

 **Professor Severus Snape Arrested!**

In what might be the least surprising headline to come out of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the last few years Professor Severus Snape, head of Slytherin House has been arrested and charged with the use of Legilimency against Harry Potter. A reminder to readers, Harry Potter is the minor heir to the Potter fortune and will assume the title of Lord Potter on his twenty-first birthday. He is also known as The-Boy-Who-Lived for his defeat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named when he was but an infant.

Details remain scarce, but evidence of Snape's use of the Mind Magic, Legilimency was brought to the attention of head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Director Amelia Bones. An investigation was mounted leading to the arrest of Snape Saturday evening. Director Bones hinted she expected further victims would be uncovered leading to more charges against the accused.

Headmaster Albus Dumbledore; being out of the country for a meeting of the International Confederation of Wizards (ICW) of which he is the Supreme Mugwump, was unavailable for comment. Deputy headmistress Minerva McGonagall stated only that she had expressed concern regarding Snape many times to her superior but never believed him capable of such a heinous act against the children in his charge.

Of course any witch or wizard not from Slytherin House to have had the pleasure, or should we say displeasure, of being in Snape's classroom since he took over as Potion Master for Horace Slughorn in 1982 will be less than surprised by these events. Reports of Snape's blatant favoritism of his house and unfair treatment of any student not from Slytherin have been rampant for years.

Former, Ravenclaw, Head Boy, and 1993 graduate Flanders Velmont, currently employed in the department for Magical Sport, was quoted of Snape as saying, "Couldn't have happened to a more deserving bloke."

The arrest of Snape once again raises questions about the tenure of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore at Hogwarts School. Readers will remember recent events at the venerable institution have seen Dumbledore fail to detect a professor who had fallen to the evils of Dark Magic two years ago as well as the infiltration of the school last year by a dark wizard that saw American witch Sandra Renee Strout killed.

Hermione set her paper down. She and the rest of his friends stared at Harry. "You got Snape arrested?" Neville breathed.

Harry nodded. "Yep."

Neville slowly started to smile. "Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you marry me?"

"Not so fast, Longbottom," a voice interrupted them. Fred and George forced their way onto the bench either side of Harry. "We'd like to get in on this action," one of them said.

"We are, after all," the other said.

"Better looking," they said together.

"At the very least we've got red hair," the twin on Harry's right went on.

"And we know he's got a thing for redheads," the other said. He winked at Ginny. She glowered at him.

Harry and his friends escaped the Great Hall a short while later and retreated to the Room of Requirement where they spent time working on their revision before shifting to judo and kickboxing practice. It was a happy group that made their way down for dinner. There were questions that remained, but there was no doubt things looked brighter than they had in a long time.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Things were dark indeed. That was the thought in the mind of Albus Dumbledore as he looked out on the grounds of Hogwarts from his office window. The moment he'd heard the news of Severus' arrest he returned to the school so he could assess the potential damage. In short it was catastrophic. Voldemort was not dead. He _would_ return from the shadow realm he currently inhabited. The loss of Severus as a spy within a resurrected Voldemort's ranks was incalculable. Things had not been this out of his control since he had hatched the plan that failed to see the end of Voldemort when he attacked Harry Potter in his crib.

How? How had this happened? How had things spun so terribly far out of his control? It all stemmed back to Harry running away from Petunia's care. Peter Pettigrew being captured – a loose end he now regretted more than ever, but who would have guessed the man was a rat animagus and had spent years hiding as the pet rat of Percy Weasley – and the subsequent exoneration of Sirius Black had been the next blow. From there Harry had somehow stumbled right into Sirius' hands. Of course if he weren't so convinced of his own brilliance he might have wondered if the universe was conspiring to tear his plans to shreds, but he never considered it. No, Harry under Sirius' guardianship was becoming everything he'd feared. It needed to end. That was the reason for Peter _escaping_ from Azkaban.

The second part of regaining control of things had been to try and isolate Harry; separate him from his friends, find ways to drive wedges in that separation… and be there to support the boy when his friends turned on him. Severus was the perfect tool for that. But now that tool was gone. Minerva had already been after him about the detentions Harry was serving. She had also been quite vocal in wanting to know what foolishness had seen Harry placed with Draco and his friends within Slytherin House. She had not been pleased with the direction to mind her own house and leave Slytherin to Severus. With Severus well on his way to Azkaban, he would no doubt be hearing of his misplaced trust in the man. Sirius, with his new ally in Anders Greengrass, would undoubtedly be able to use this against him as well. He wouldn't be in danger of being replaced as Headmaster, but he was likely looking at closer oversight of his decisions and didn't doubt the person granted that oversight would be Minerva.

But before he could worry about any of that he needed to be certain Severus wasn't able to implicate him in any of the things that might come out during his trial. It was a regretful decision, but engineering Severus' escape so soon after Peter would be unwise.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

As one would have expected, the next week brought a whirlwind of change within the school. Snape's replacement as Potion's Master wouldn't start till Monday. But as the only alumni of Slytherin left on staff, Professor Septima Vector was named as the new Head of Slytherin House. She taught Arithmancy and had been at the school only a few years less than Professor McGonagall. Harry wondered how it was that Snape had been named Head of Slytherin over her when he was hired as the new Potion's Master and figured it came down to Dumbledore. Sirius confirmed the theory when he told them Professor McGonagall had told the Order she had talked the woman out of resigning when Snape had been given the position for which his predecessor, a man named Horace Slughorn, had been grooming her for years. Professor McGonagall had informed them they could expect sea changes from Snape's tenure.

The evidence of that prediction was borne out in a reordering of groups within Slytherin House. Harry knew the changes had been made across all years but for him it meant being regrouped within his house with Daphne, Ginny, Draco and Tracey. He would have loved to dump the blonde and any of his friends entirely, but as Harry considered the new groupings, Draco and the trouble he and his friends caused in class had largely been neutered. He, Ginny and Daphne had proved Draco didn't intimidate them and with only Tracey, who was definitely the bottom dweller of Draco's group of friends, in class with him, the blonde was noticeably less disruptive. Blaise and Pansy were in the same boat and now grouped with people they didn't intimidate either. Theodore was alone in his group and Gregory and Vincent truly were too stupid to cause trouble without Draco or any of the others to lead them.

All in all it was brilliant and after only two days Harry could only wonder why he hadn't done it earlier. Oh, he knew why. His mum and the rest had been concerned about how Dumbledore would react if they took Snape down. It was a case of the devil you know being better than the devil you don't. But for Harry, that had ceased to be the case. There were too many unearned detentions, too many times a perfect potion had been thrown away, or ruined by Draco or one of his friends throwing something in his cauldron. He had been called an idiot and a fool and accused of being just like his arrogant swine father one too many times. But perhaps the final straw had been when Snape had grabbed him by the robes from the cupboard and shook him last spring just after Harry had learned Ginny had been taken into the Chamber of Secrets. He'd been physically assaulted too many times in his life to just let it go. He'd hatched his plan over the summer and coerced Director Bones into agreeing to help him. She in turn had twisted Mrs Tonks' arm – and his mum had three months to cool off before he went home for the Christmas hols.

And now he was free of Snape!

He was practically giddy. Tomorrow was Sunday and quidditch tryouts and today, today was the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year. He'd gotten rid of Snape, didn't have detention and, along with the rest of the students third year and above, would be allowed to visit the village for shopping, relaxing and just getting out of the castle for a bit. He could hardly wait. Of course if he had his way he'd have been spending part of the day alone with Ginny, but he was just going to have to settle for a group outing.

His relationship with Ginny seemed to go in spurts. He'd been concerned about how she would react after the incident with the dementors on the train to school and it _had_ caused her to withdraw some from him. But then things had gone downhill with Snape and she'd given him that letter after he'd said he wouldn't be bluffing if he threatened to withdraw from school. Difficult as it sometimes was to tell, it was plain she still liked him. She just didn't trust him; or trust herself, or whatever. He wished he could get through to her that he would never force her to be anything she didn't want, but the events of the last few years were just too much for her right now.

The night before they'd boarded the train, his mum had reiterated what Mrs Tonks had been telling him all summer. She also gently reminded him of how long it took for him to fully trust her once Remus had retrieved him from his aunt's care. Harry really hoped it wouldn't take more than two years before he could break down Ginny's fears and kiss her again. The two times his lips had touched hers were pretty much seared into his memory. There were times he would swear his lips were still tingling. And then there was the train to school this year. He would never wish anything bad on Ginny, but he was almost grateful to the dementor because she had allowed him to hold her after, and how wrong was that?

"Shall we get going?" Hermione asked eagerly. Daphne had finished eating a few minutes ago and the group of friends had been excitedly discussing plans for the day. Luna had asked if they could go to the teahouse and while Harry and Neville had not been overly excited at the prospect, as they had a full menu, they had agreed to have lunch there. Hermione was thrilled. Tea had been something she had always done with her mum. After the discovery she was a witch, Lily had joined them for their monthly outings. The ritual was taken up again each summer, but summer hols were only ten weeks long and she missed them the rest of the year.

"Oh yes, let's," Luna said.

"I'm ready if everyone else is," Harry said.

"Then let's be off," Daphne said. "Madam Puddifoots does a good business even without the students' patronage. We should stop there first thing and make a reservation for later."

Harry shot Neville a look and sighed. He'd been hoping the place would be too busy when they tried to go and he'd get out of it. It wasn't that he disliked tea per sae, he actually quite liked tea with scones and jam; especially if real Devonshire Cream was available, he just wasn't overly thrilled at the frilly atmosphere of most teahouses. And he'd heard enough from the older students to know Madam Puddifoots trended to being more frilly than most. But apparently this was the price to pay when four of your five friends were of the female persuasion. Neville gave him a sardonic smile and shrugged, resigned to his fate with Harry.

In short order the six were exiting the school and making their way across the grounds. The weather was better than perfect for early fall in the Highlands. It was a balmy 15˚ with nary a cloud in the sky. The breeze was light and only a long jumper was required. Neville, who seemed to run hot, was actually in just a collared tee. The six were among the very first students to reach the checkpoint where they produced their permission forms for Filch to examine before they were allowed to precede to the gates.

"You can't go," Filch said, shoving Harry's form at him.

"Why not?" Harry demanded.

"Think I don't know your name is Potter, boy?" the man spat at him. "This is signed by Sirius Black."

Harry stared at him incredulously for a second before muttering, "You've got to be joking."

"You cannot intend to claim you do not know _Lord_ Sirius Black is Harry's godfather and legal guardian," Daphne stepped in.

"Mind your own business, Girlie," he snapped at her.

"Now see here!" Daphne said, drawing herself up.

Professor Sprout arrived before things could escalate further. "That will be enough, Mr Filch," she said.

"But Professor—"

"Lord Sirius Black is Mr Potter's legal guardian," Sprout cut him off. "Therefore his signature on Mr Potter's form is perfectly adequate for him to attend the village."

"Yes, Ma'am," Filch muttered sullenly.

"You may go, Mr Potter."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry said, grateful they'd only been delayed a few minutes by the cantankerous old goat of a caretaker. He set off with his friends in tow.

"Mr Potter," Sprout stopped him.

Harry turned back. "The dementors are here for a reason. Take extra care, yes?"

"Yes, Ma'am. We will, Professor."

"Very good. Off with you now."

"Well that was cheery," Harry muttered.

"She was just reminding you to be careful," Hermione admonished.

"Didn't see her telling anyone else to be extra careful."

"Well no one else is exactly a target for an escaped killer, are they?" Luna countered. A sudden chill followed by Ginny moaning brought the group to silence. There, ten feet in front of them, one on either side of the gate, loomed a pair of dementors. Two aurors were stationed there as well, and two glowing patroni stayed near their castors. One was a falcon that sat on its auror's shoulder, the other looked to be a Crup; a small dog that looked a bit like a Jack Russell terrier only it had a forked tail, sat at its auror's feet.

"You'll be fine, Ginevra," Luna said, taking her hand. She gave a shaky nod before determinedly marching past. Harry braced himself as well and with their friends crowding around them they quickly left the aurors and dementors behind.

"C–Can't imagine how they can stand b–being near the things all day like that," Neville said about a minute later. He gave a shudder.

"You don't have to tell me, Mate," Harry said.

Harry was browsing through Scrivenshaft's Quill Shoppe when Ginny slipped next to him. "Doesn't it bother you they affect you so much?"

Harry focused on her. "The dementors?"

"Yes."

"Well, it'd be kind of stupid of me if it didn't, yeah? But I learned I had to either accept things for what they are or change them a long time ago." He shrugged. "Fact, dementors fuck with my head. Fact, I'll learn the Patronus Charm. Fact, I _will_ be stronger than the fear."

Ginny furrowed her brow slightly as she considered his answer. After a second or two something shifted in her stature and she straightened. "Thanks, Harry," she said.

"Anytime," he answered, but she was already walking away. He stared after her.

"You'll win eventually," Luna said from behind him.

Harry turned. "You think?"

"Oh yes, you're the only person I've met more stubborn than she is."

Harry smirked. Only Luna. "Bet on it."

From Scrivenshaft's the group made their way to Zonko's Joke Shop where they found most of the male population of the school. A quick perusal was all Harry needed to decide not to purchase anything. In most cases he could do better on his own. Besides, it was almost a point of pride with him to not use shortcuts. Anyone could throw a dung bomb in the toilet. It took a bit more skill to produce the same effect by setting off the right combination of ingredients in someone's bag.

From Zonko's they made their way to Honeydukes Sweetshoppe where Harry replenished his supply of Chocolate Frogs. He really was addicted to the things. Also Ginny had recently begun taking one when he placed a handful on the table when they were all studying together. He also made mental note that she lingered at the counter, examining the various truffles before she bought a sugar quill.

After Honeydukes they poked their heads in The Hog's Head Tavern and just as quickly ducked out. There wasn't another student in the place and the man behind the bar had given them a decidedly unfriendly look. They also made a quick tour of The Three Broomsticks before leaving it behind as well. There was little point in having a drink or something to eat when they were going to be having tea before long. Harry gave a wistful sigh as they left. The rich dark wood, warm inviting lanterns on the walls and roaring fire, coupled with the delicious smell of pub food tugged hard. He didn't even need a glance of the fabled proprietor; a busty woman by the name of Madam Rosemerta, to know The Three Broomsticks was his kind of place.

From The Three Broomsticks they made their way to Gladrags, a clothing store where Daphne found a hat, scarf and pair of mittens she seemed enamored of. She was making her way to the register when Harry slipped in front of her with a jumper he'd found for his mum. "You should skip the scarf," he said under his breath.

She quirked an eye. "Why?"

"Because Ginny just put a matching skein of yarn back." Daphne blinked a number of times. Harry winked at her, took his package and moved out of the way.

"Miss Greengrass," the proprietor greeted her, "It's lovely to see you again."

"Hello, Madam Trusou," Daphne answered. "It's lovely to see you again as well."

"You were pleased with the dress you purchased?"

"Very. My mother not so much."

Madam Trusou laughed. "That is ever the way it is between mothers and daughters. Will this be all for you today?"

"Actually, if you wouldn't mind putting it back, I've decided against the scarf."

"Of course, my dear."

Harry was waiting with Neville, Hermione and Luna when Daphne and Ginny exited Gladrags. Daphne caught his eye and winked. Harry grinned. Hermione glanced at her watch. "We've about ninety minutes before tea."

"There's a jeweler, a florist, Dervish and Banges, and a curio shoppe left," Daphne said, "but otherwise that's about all there is."

"Ha!" Ginny said, "if you think you're getting out of going to Quidditch and Quodpot, you're daft."

Daphne sighed exasperatedly. "If I must."

Ginny grabbed the girl by the hand and pulled her along to the shoppe. "You must." Harry was more than happy to go to Q&Q, though he tended to think quodpot, was a bit daft. It was a bit like Muggle basketball; except for the small detail where the ball tended to explode. But quidditch, that went without saying. It was brilliant. But other than gift ideas for Ginny – he wondered if buying her the Gwenog Jones' game worn and signed Harpy's jersey would bring her around – he didn't find anything he felt he needed to have."

From Q&Q they made their way to the jewlers. Hopner's turned out to be a well-appointed shoppe, carrying a wide range of items in its many display cases. The proprietor seemed to know his clientele well. To go with the expected high priced items he also carried many lower priced bracelets, necklaces, pins and hairclips that were perfect for the young men of Hogwarts to present their girlfriends with at Christmas, Valentines or their birthdays. All Harry's female friends were quite enamored with the hairclips, but unless something changed rather drastically, he didn't expect he'd have need of that bit of information any time soon.

Dervish and Banges sold and repaired all sorts of wizarding equipment and Harry purchased a pocket sneakoscope. It was supposed to light up and whistle when someone near you was doing something they shouldn't. Hermione seemed skeptical of it, but with the Rat running free, Harry figured it couldn't hurt to try it. Besides, it was only three galleons seven sickles.

Karlie's Curio Shoppe was the last place they visited before heading for tea and as the name suggested was a mishmash of everything. Like Hopner's the proprietor had done a good job of presenting items of both higher quality and price with more reasonably priced items. Harry was surprised to see a collection of CDs and portable players for them. "You must be Muggle born." Harry turned to find an attractive woman with brown hair he guessed to be about Bill's age speaking to him. Her eyes widened as she noticed the scar on his forehead.

"Half-blood," Harry answered. "But I've spent most of my life in the non-magic world. You sound American."

"Drat," the woman muttered. "Five years now I've been trying to lose that accent." She stuck her hand out. "I'm Karlie."

Harry shook her hand. "Harry Potter. You must be Muggle-born or half-blood yourself to have those." He pointed at the CDs and players.

"Muggle born," she agreed, "Though the American's call them No-Majs."

"Yeah, I know. I went to West of Key West a few years ago."

Karlie smiled. "That's a great place. I almost decided to open shop there."

"Why didn't you?"

She grinned. "I wanted a husband with an English accent."

Harry gave her a curious look. "And how's that working out for you?"

"Not good at all," she laughed. "Seems everyone here's got a Scottish burr going. But the rent was way cheaper than Diagon Alley so I might have adjust my standards."

Harry chuckled. "Probably." He nodded at the CD players. "You got those to work. I'm impressed. It took my guardian months to figure it out."

"Did he now?" she asked. "I'm not going to have competition, am I?"

Harry shook his head. "Naw, he's got enough to do getting my keyboard and guitar to work."

"You've got an electric guitar and keyboard working on magic?" she gasped.

Harry nodded. "Yeah. I could arrange for him to talk with you if you like."

"Really? That would be awesome."

"Sure. I'll just tell him to stop in if that works for you."

"That would be unbelievable. I've been trying to get my bass working for over a year."

"Well it can't be any worse than my guitar was so I'm sure he could help you."

"Harry," Hermione interrupted, "I'm sorry, but we're going to be late."

"Right, sorry." He glanced at the collection of CDs again but there wasn't anything he didn't already have.

"What do you like?" she asked.

Harry shrugged. "Pretty much anything. But I've already got everything you've got."

"Wait one minute," she said. "I'll be right back." She disappeared into the back room.

"Harry," Hermione urged.

"I know," he said. "I don't want to be rude though."

"It's rude to be late for a reservation as well you know. I already sent the others ahead."

Karlie hurried out from the back. "Here, I guarantee you haven't got that yet."

Harry took the offered CD. It was the expected new release from Pearl Jam, Vs! "No way!"

"It's not supposed to go on sale for a few weeks yet, but if you swear to never tell anyone where you got it, you can have it."

"How much?"

"Just make sure your guardian stops by. I'm sick of having to go someplace Muggle to play."

Harry hesitated. "You're sure? He may not be able to."

She waved him off. "Then you can pay me next time you're in."

"Harry," Hermione hissed. "Either pay her or take it.

"Alright," Harry agreed, "If you're sure."

"Positive."

"Brilliant. Thanks," Harry said.

"You're welc—" Hermione was pulling him away already and they were out the door, cutting off Karlie's response.

Harry shook her hand off. "I'm coming, already."

"We're late."

"It's five minutes and we're two minutes from the place. It'll be fine."

"It's rude."

"So is pulling me away like that."

"Next time I'm just going to leave you."

"Good."

"Fine."

"Fine." Bickering back and forth all the way they hurried to Madam Puddifoots. Harry opened the door and held it for her.

"Thank you."

"Welcome."

"And you must be the rest of my party of six?" a woman greeted them.

Harry tried not to groan. Madam Puddifoot(s) was exactly as he'd feared; frilly. Hopefully the food would be worth the suffering. "We are," he said. "I'm sorry we're late, my friend was caught up in a conversation and it was everything I could do to drag her away."

Hermione gasped. "Harry James Potter!"

"If you could please direct us to our table." He handed her his Gringotts key. "Also if you would please make certain all charges for today are to my account, I would be most grateful to you."

"Of course Mr Potter. You're friends are in the other room. If you'll just follow me." She set off.

"Oh, and please add a twenty-five percent gratuity to the bill as well," Harry said.

"Of course Mr Potter." Madam Puddifoot led them to a table hidden away in the corner where they found Neville, Ginny, Daphne and Luna waiting for them. Neville appeared decidedly relieved to see Harry. "Here we are, Mr Potter."

"Thank you," Harry said. He pulled out a chair for Hermione and grinned at her.

She glowered at him. "We were not late because of me."

"Women are never late, Dear," Madam Puddifoot whispered. "Men are simply early."

"Exactly," Daphne said.

A bit more than an hour later Luna sat holding her cup in her hands. "This was as wonderful as I remembered," she said. "Thank you all for coming with me."

"We're happy to, Luna," Daphne said.

"At least most of us are," Hermione amended.

"It was too terrible, was it?" Luna asked, looking at Harry and Neville.

"It was fine," Harry said. He really couldn't complain; he'd had a very nice steak and potato pasty and real Devonshire cream for his scones. "The food _was_ really good, wasn't it Neville?"

Neville nodded. "I'd be h–happy to come again."

"Excellent," Daphne pounced. "I vote we take it in turns to choose where we eat. It's my turn to choose next and I pick here." She gave Harry a challenging look.

He smirked back. "Fine, I get the following week and I pick The Hogs Head."

"NO!" all four girls said together.

* * *

Ginny lay in her bed that night replaying what Harry had said to her in Scrivenshaft's. It had really hit home with her. She had felt like she was beginning to recover from what had happened to her when the dementor had sent her right back to where she'd been upon first realizing she had killed Sandra. It might have looked like she'd mostly shrugged things off by the next morning, but she'd felt brittle ever since; like all it would take was a single touch and she'd shatter into a million pieces. For Merlin's sake it had taken her over two weeks to gather the nerve to ask Harry about it today. She hadn't known what she expected to hear from him but the admission he was bothered by his weakness wasn't it.

Sometimes he just seemed so invincible. For Merlin's sake, he'd survived being bitten by an effing basilisk! In one sense she knew she was being ridiculous. Harry still wasn't fully recovered. He still labored to keep up on training runs when before he was a full minute per mile faster than everyone else. And the numbers of press-ups, sit-ups, chin-ups and all the other exercises they performed remained a good bit below the numbers he'd been able to do before.

It was something else that made him so otherworldly and she'd finally opened her eyes to that today. Harry wasn't invincible because he was so powerful or because he ran faster than anyone, or because he was exceedingly intelligent. He was invincible because he refused to give in to the fear he wasn't good enough. He _would_ be stronger than the fear. Well, so would she. She had been a victim for well over a year now. Despite Harry and Neville pulling her from the Chamber of Secrets over three months ago she was still playing the victim,

No More!

Just like Harry, she _would be_ stronger than the fear.

* * *

Author's notes:

Still a ways to go, but Ginny's finally really on her way now.

And don't you just love the way Harry blames Hermione for them being late? What a little shit.


	13. Chapter 13

Standard disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR. Except where I might use some song lyrics which I will call out at the time and give proper credit. Thank you JKR for letting us play with your toys.

I will continue to use the occasional song lyric in the story and will give credit at the time when needed.

This is the fourth book in my Slytherin Harry series. And I'm departing from reusing JKR's title because too much of the story has changed. I'll leave it up to all of you to decide just who the Blood Traitor's Daughter is. In my mind there is more than one candidate.

Book 1: Harry Potter and the Muggle's Daughter

Book 2: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Book 3: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Book 4: Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor's Daughter.

If you haven't read books 1-3 you won't know what's going on. But the bonus is you've got three completed books before you even get to this one!

And last, the disappointing bits.

First, because the site gives me such difficulty uploading, I've adjusted my writing to make things easier and made chapters generally shorter than in the past I try to keep things at about 5000 words because it just works best.

Second, to ensure I keep the production of new material ahead of the pace of my posting I'm afraid I have to go to every other week. I'm sorry, but I'm doing the best I can.

* * *

 **HARRY POTTER AND THE BLOOD TRAITOR'S DAUGHTER**

 **CHAPTER XIII**

 **It has Come to This**

* * *

Quidditch tryouts brought only a few surprises for Slytherin. The one and only thing Harry had liked about Snape was the way in which the team had been chosen the two years he'd been on it. All players, even those returning from the previous year, were forced to earn their place again; that and the fact that Madam Hooch oversaw the tryouts and picked the players. There may have been favoritism on the team before Harry had arrived at school, but there wasn't the two years he'd been on it.

The process was repeated again this year. With a few exceptions, things had gone pretty much as expected. Harry figured the starting lineup would remain unchanged. He, Ginny, Amber and David, having played together for two full years, were becoming a well-oiled machine and Harry doubted a new slasher would crack the starting lineup till David graduated. But they had this year and next yet before that happened. Paden and Terrance remained as beaters and were heads above any competition to replace them. Tiffany had flown well at keeper as well. In Harry's opinion easily earning the right to reclaim her starting position.

It was the backups where there was a bit of a shakeup. The first was Mandy Vaisey, opting not to tryout this year. It was her seventh year and she had been tabbed to fill Stephanie Chambers' Prefect slot when she was named Head Girl. Between that and it being her N.E.W.T. year she decided she couldn't afford the missed study-time practice and matches would require; especially as she was only a backup. That had opened up a position there and while Harry was loath to admit it, Draco had flown well enough that he was probably going to fill the spot. The second surprise had been Vincent and Gregory trying out at beater. They were quite ferocious. Harry seriously doubted Bo would lose his place as a backup, but he was quite worried one of Draco's cronies would be named to the team

He wasn't thrilled with the prospect at all. It was one thing to be ferocious in tryouts, but he didn't think either Vincent or Gregory had the brains to grasp the plays and teamwork involved in playing in an actual match. He and the rest of the starters had gone so far as to voice their concern to Madam Hooch. They'd insisted on running a few actual plays with all the players trying out for beater. Each of the newcomers was giving the same instruction by the experienced players and then put through the paces. As expected Vincent and Gregory didn't have a clue once more than just hitting the bludger with a bat was involved. Gregory had very nearly taken Ginny off her broom because he'd missed the call. Osian Thwaite, a first-year and younger brother of Harry's year mate Imogen, had outperformed them by far during that portion of the tryouts and Harry was hopeful it would be him who joined the team.

"Well?" Harry asked peering over the shoulders of Ginny and Daphne at the board.

Ginny traced her finger down the roster. "Thank Nimue," she sighed when she saw Osian listed as the fourth beater.

Harry grinned. "Brilliant. What do you think I'd have to pay to have him take Malfoy out?"

"Whatever it is it would be worth it," Ginny said.

"Should we head up for breakfast then?" Daphne asked.

"Yes," Ginny said, "I just wanted to check. Let's go."

Harry was hurrying through the halls to Transfiguration; he'd wanted to ask Flitwick a question about Enlarging Charms and now he was late. Thankfully, he had a note. Professor McGonagall did not suffer tardiness. He was just about to turn down the hallway to the Transfiguration classroom when he heard a frightened but defiant voice coming from the other direction.

"You can't make me!" Harry slowed.

"You listen to me, you half-blood worm." Harry stopped. That had been Malfoy. Harry edged his way around the corner. "Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle had cornered Osian Thwaite, the first year who had been named as Slytherin's second backup beater. "You're going to quit the team or Crabbe here is going to throw you over the rail."

"Piss off, Malfoy," Osian retorted. "Snape isn't here to protect you anymore." Harry had to hand it to the kid. He might have been big for a first-year, but Crabbe and Goyle were miniature only if they were trolls. The kid had a pair.

"Do it," Malfoy snarled. Crabbe grabbed Osian.

Harry stepped into the open. "You might want to think twice about that Drac." The three boys whipped around. "Let him go, Vincent."

"Even better," Draco sneered. "Get him." Crabbe and Goyle proved they were utter morons and hadn't learned a thing from the thrashing Harry had given them the first night of first-year. Goyle reached him first. Harry grabbed his arm and launched him over his shoulder. He landed heavily on his back, knocking his wind out, and lay there gasping. Harry slid sideways, grabbed Crabbe by the leg and upended him. He had the boy in a triangle choke in seconds and he was unconscious before Goyle had managed to sit up. Harry rolled to his knees, punched him in the throat and was on his feet stalking towards Draco.

Draco's eyes widened fearfully and he backed away quickly, fumbling for his wand as Harry approached him. "You stay away from me!"

Harry's wand slid from his holster to his hand. He ran forward, slipping sideways to avoid Draco's tripping jinx. He closed the distance between them and grabbed Draco by the wrist. He twisted, forcing the blonde to drop his wand and then follow it himself to the floor. "Silencio," he snarled. Draco's mouth snapped shut. Harry loomed over him, still holding the other boy by the wrist, threatening to break his arm with just a bit more pressure. "You just don't get it, do you?" Harry said menacingly. "You're a cockroach, Drac, and I can stomp you any time I choose." Harry stood. "Don't make me choose, Drac." He turned. Crabbe was still out while Goyle was clutching at his throat in a great deal of pain. Harry couldn't have cared less. He knew damn well it hurt to get hit there; that's why he'd done it. He focused on Osian. The boy was staring at him in awe and no small amount of fear. "Alright?" he asked.

The boy nodded. "Y–Yeah."

"Come on then. These three don't seem to realize Snape isn't around any longer. It's time to see if our new head of house is up to the job."

"You–You're going to tell?"

"You're bloody damn right I am. Why do you think I got rid of Snape…? Now come on."

* * *

"Mr Malfoy will be reinstated to the Slytherin team," Albus said.

"You are overruling my decision?" Professor Vector asked.

"You're new to your role as head of house, Septima. I feel to come down too hard on Mr Malfoy will only serve to make matters worse. His detentions will stand. I believe that will be enough to change his behavior. "

Professor Vector clenched her jaw tightly. "In other words you are overruling my decision and lessening the punishment for a student who has repeatedly found himself to be in danger of expulsion?"

"Now, Septima, I think you exaggerate the situation."

"The situation is that Draco Malfoy threatened another student and when that student wouldn't agree to his demands he ordered Vincent Crabbe to throw the boy over the railing. Need I remind you they were on the third floor? Would Osian's dead body have been enough for you to consider the situation serious?"

"I hardly think Mr Malfoy was serious or that Mr Crabbe would have complied with his instructions."

"Do you?" she snapped. "Vincent and Gregory were more than willing to comply with Draco's order to attack Harry. I shudder to consider the outcome of that were Harry not so well trained in defending himself."

"Which brings me to the point of Mr Potter," Albus said. "What punishment do you propose for his actions?"

"His actions were to protect another student from being attacked!"

"Mr Potter should have gone for help, not directly involved himself. This whole situation could have been avoided had he done so."

"The situation could have been avoided if you had done your job the past number of years and reigned in your former Potions Master; whom I will point out you were told of his disturbing practices on more than one occasion and is currently awaiting trial for the attempted rape of Harry Potter's mind!"

"That will be enough!" Albus said angrily. "Draco will be reinstated to the Slytherin team. Harry Potter will serve detention one night per week for the remainder of term for his role in these events."

Professor Vector glared back at him. "Is that your final word?"

"It is."

She raised her chin. "Very well then. I tender my resignation; effective immediately." Albus rocked back in his chair. She stood. "I shall vacate the school within twenty-four hours."

Minerva, who had been silent throughout the exchange, stepped in. "I, as well, will take this time to tender my resignation; effective immediately. You can expect I shall also vacate the school within twenty-four." The two women glared at their shocked superior.

"You cannot be serious," Albus croaked.

Minerva pursed her lips. "I am deadly serious, Albus. For too long I allowed you to dismiss my concerns about Severus. Now I see that perhaps Severus wasn't the entire problem. I am sick to death of the different standards of behavior considered acceptable for certain individuals of this school. Draco Malfoy has gotten away with murder during his time here. Infractions that would have seen other students expelled resulted in little more than a slap on the wrist. His detentions will stand. His expulsion from the team stands. He will learn to deal with appropriate repercussions of his behavior or he will be expelled. Further, Harry Potter will face no punishment for his role in these events. In fact, I award him fifty points for his defense of Mr Thwaite. You can accept these facts or you can find yourself new Transfiguration and Arithmancy professors. If you choose the latter, do not think I will not speak with Filius or Pomona. They are both as embarrassed as I with events of recent years and just as sick of your seeming inability to deal with certain elements within this school. I should think the odds quite likely you will find yourself in need of new Charms and Herbology instructors should you be unwilling to reconsider your decision."

Albus stared at the two women. "It has come to this between us then?"

They both raised their chins. "It has."

Albus sighed. He wasn't sure just how he'd lost the respect of his staff, but he knew when he was beaten. Severus' arrest had demanded he explain himself before the Governors. His retention of the position of Headmaster had been a far closer thing than he'd expected. The loss of Minerva and Septima would see him in front of the board again and he doubted he would survive if that happened; especially if Filius and Pomona were to resign as well. The board would need to choose between him and losing all four heads of house. He didn't need a reading of tealeaves to know the outcome.

"Mr Malfoy's punishment stands as you assigned, Septima," he said.

"And Mr. Potter?" Minerva demanded.

"Will face no punishment for his actions."

"Very good," Minerva said. "If that is all, we shall take our leave. Rest assured, unless it becomes necessary," she threatened, "this conversation shall remain between us three."

"I thank you for that," Albus said.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Harry walked into the Room of Requirement for his first lesson with Mrs Tonks since he had written Director Bones and threatened to engage Snape in an all out mind battle unless she agreed to help him take the man down. He had seen Mrs Tonks that night only long enough for her to pluck a couple of his hairs for the Polyjuice Potion. It was enough to know she wasn't pleased with his methods. The euphoria of a Snapeless school had allowed him to put aside his fears of when he would see her again. He didn't regret what he'd done. He would do it again. He just didn't like the idea of her being upset with him. The door closed behind him and he knew he was in for it even worse than expected. It wasn't Mrs Tonks waiting for him.

"Mum?" he croaked. She didn't look good. "What's wrong?"

"I'm so sorry, Harry."

Harry cocked his head. "For what?"

"I was so afraid of upsetting Dumbledore… You told me and told me and I ignored you. You told me you were being abused and I did nothing to protect you. I'm so sorry, Harry. So very sorry."

"You're not angry with me?"

She shook her head. "It's you who should be angry with me." Harry seemed on the verge of running to her but hesitated. She opened her arms and he leapt forward.

"I love you, Mum."

She kissed his crown. "I'm so sorry." She kissed him again. "So, so, sorry."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Over the next few weeks, things finally settled into a routine. Once again the school didn't seem to know what to do with Harry. It was no secret he'd been vilified by pretty much everyone. But Snape was truly loathed by three of the four houses. Even a portion of Slytherin House loathed the man for the way he let certain students behave. So, while they were all thrilled to be shot of Snape, they didn't know how to handle it was Harry who had gotten rid of him. A good number of them seemed to feel it only proved Harry was Dark and intent on taking over the world. How else would he have stood up to the man if not for Dark Magic? Either way, things were much quieter for Harry. Whatever people thought of him they were giving him a very wide berth. Harry was perfectly happy with that.

He was also pleased with the new Potions instructor; Professor Paddington had started a week after Snape had been arrested. Being of average height and weight, with average brown hair and brown eyes, he was fairly nondescript. As an instructor though, he was everything Snape wasn't. Where Snape had just written the instructions on the board and then walked around yelling at them for their mistakes, Professor Paddington actually explained things. He wasn't as good as his mum, but Harry couldn't have been more thrilled. With Halloween fast approaching, the class rankings were very quickly changing. Harry and his friends were now firmly atop the standings where Draco and his cronies were suddenly only at the bottom of the upper third.

Quidditch was in full swing with practices occurring two nights a week plus Sunday mornings. David had been named captain again and without Draco to ruin things, Harry was having more fun than ever. He was even getting along better with Terrance. The team looked to be strong. Harry was actually the biggest fall off from where he'd been last spring. The basilisk bite was still haunting him, but he was steadily getting stronger and was very much looking forward to testing himself against Cedric come next term. The sixth-year remained the stick by which all slashers in the school were measured, and with him Hufflepuff remained the team to beat. But they were replacing their keeper and a beater so there was a chance they wouldn't be up to the level of last year's squad.

But quidditch was tomorrow. Tonight he and his friends were meeting with Remus to work on the Patronus Charm. Harry had never struggled with a spell like he was this one before. He knew the theory inside and out but despite this being the fourth time meeting with Remus he'd yet to even produce a glowing mist, which was a precursor to forming a fully corporeal Patronus. It was very frustrating because they weren't even facing a dementor in their lessons. He had gone through a half dozen different memories, from first being reunited with his mum, to Tonks declaring him her brother, to the two kisses he'd shared with Ginny, but none of them had worked. Clearly, something was off in them that was stopping him being successful with the charm.

Frustrated, he sat down on the step and watched while Remus moved about, instructing his friends. At this point, there was little instruction to give. The incantation was simple enough. Harry didn't think he'd ever been so precise with his wand movements and was pretty certain each of his friends could say the same. Besides, going all the way back to one of his first lessons with his mum, he knew those things were just tools. The incantation, the wand and wand movement didn't really matter. Remus could perform the spell silently and with barely a twitch of his wand. The magic came from within. He just had to figure a way of getting it to come out.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Ginny bellowed. Harry's jaw dropped and she nearly dropped her wand when a stream of silvery mist issued forth from her wand. "Oh!" she gasped.

"Excellent, Ginny!" Remus praised. "Quickly now, do it again."

The others stopped and watched. Ginny was the first of them to experience any success at all. Ginny took a few moments, closing her eyes while she gathered herself. Just before she cast the spell her face seemed to shift; she just seemed to kind of go somewhere else. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" she cried. Once again the silvery mist issued forth from her wand. It even seemed a bit denser than the first time. As quickly as her success came, the stream faltered and her arm began to shake. A second later she sagged to the floor. "Bugger," she gasped.

Remus chuckled. "Indeed." He sat down with her. "Alright, everyone come in for a minute and let's take a break. Harry and the others joined them in a circle on the floor. "So, Ginny," Remus said, "do you think you can tell us what you did differently? Did you choose a new memory, or was it something else?"

"Both," Ginny answered. "But I think I might be able to make it work with some of my other memories now. It's kind of hard to explain, on one hand I just had to kind of release the negative thoughts attached to my happy thought. On the other I had to accept the negative thoughts are a part of it."

"Of course!" Luna exclaimed. "That's brilliant, Ginevra."

"But we're supposed to pick a happy memory. Why would you have negative thoughts about it if it was a happy memory?" Hermione asked.

"Because nothing happens in a vacuum," Luna answered.

"What do you mean?" Daphne asked.

Luna held her hand up. "One second." The others waited. "Expecto Patronum!" Luna said. A weak stream of mist spilled from her wand. "Yes, very profound," she observed. "And very tiring. I shant expect I could do that again too many times tonight."

"Erm, Luna," Harry said.

She focused on him. "I have been trying to use my memory of meeting you and Hermione on the train. It was ever so wonderful to think I had made new friends. But friends are sometimes a bit of a pain. I had to accept that about you both for the spell to work."

"A pain?" Hermione demanded. "We're a pain to you?"

"Occasionally, yes. Your good points outweigh the bad though. In fact," she drew a deep breath, "Expecto Patronum!" This time the stream of silvery light that issued forth from her wand was much stronger. There was even a point within it that it seemed to coalesce for a second before Luna faltered and the spell failed. "I might suggest the more recent the memory you choose, the better." She leaned over and rested her head on Hermione's shoulder. "I'm just going to rest a bit if you don't mind."

Remus chuckled. "You go right ahead, Luna."

"Thank you, Remus."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

"Hello, Ginny," Mrs Tonks said, "how are you?" She poured tea for them.

"I'm fine, or mostly fine."

Mrs Tonks smiled. "I'm glad to hear it." She waited. It had taken months to get Ginny talking at all. And when she did it was rarely about anything of significance.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Certainly."

"Does Harry ever make you feel inferior?" Ginny cringed. "That came out wrong."

Mrs Tonks smirked. "Why don't you try and explain?"

"It's kind of hard to explain. He's just so good at everything. And I know he works hard for that. It just seems, once he sets his mind to something, there isn't anything he can't do."

Mrs Tonks considered for a second. "And you feel inferior next to him?"

Ginny shrugged. "Sometimes… It's just since I've met him, and Hermione too I guess, they've done dozens of things for me."

"Such as?"

"Well, my true RoM score for one. A spare wand and wrist holsters. The map. Ward Stones, learning Occlumency and judo, kickboxing, and I just feel like I never do anything first, or give something to them."

"I see what you mean. You wonder what you contribute?"

Ginny nodded. "Yes."

"And what of your help with protecting the Stone? Did you not help there?"

Ginny shrugged. "We all did that."

"What of your success with the Patronus Charm, did that not lead to all of you experiencing your first successes with it?"

Ginny shrugged. "I suppose."

Mrs Tonks let out a small sigh. "Ginny, I understand what you mean. To be perfectly honest, yes, on more than one occasion Harry has made me feel inferior. But then so have you and all your friends."

Ginny frowned. "How have I made you feel inferior?"

Mrs Tonks leaned forward. "Ginny, do you truly not understand the strength it took to fight the Horcrux?"

"But I didn't. It took me, and Harry and Neville and Auntie Minerva had to save me."

Mrs Tonks frowned. "Ginny, I want you to think about something. When the diary attacked you in the hospital, do you remember how it set fire to Penelope, Hermione and Luna's bed linens? Do you remember that your first thought was to protect them and put those fires out? You could have escaped if you hadn't done that. You put yourself at risk to save them from some very serious injuries. I know the Horcrux took you into the Chamber and I know it used you to kill Sandra. I am truly sorry for that. I won't pretend to know just how difficult this has been for you. But you need to understand just how much worse things could have been if you hadn't fought back so hard."

Ginny was quiet for quite some time. "I should have fought harder."

"I believe you fought harder than anyone else could have."

"Not Harry."

"Perhaps even him. No," she said when Ginny tried to respond. "Harry is not all powerful, nor is he invincible. Just like you, he is human and fallible."

Ginny pursed her lips. "I still should have fought harder. And I need you to teach me how."

Mrs Tonks tipped her head. "You wish to resume your Occlumency training?"

"Yes."

"Now?"

"Yes."

Half an hour later Ginny pushed Mrs Tonks out of her mind. "I don't need you to baby me," she said angrily.

Mrs Tonks squeezed her eyes shut, trying to regain her bearings. "Ginny," she said, "I most certainly am not babying you."

"Then why is it so easy to detect you?" Ginny demanded.

"Because you have been tested by, and have defeated, someone far more capable than myself."

"What?"

"Ginny, remember what you have been through, whom you have done battle with. You were engaged in mind battles every day, all day, for nearly a full year. Eventually you began to win some of those battles. Enough that you broke the hold the Horcrux had on you and were able to throw it away. I swear to you, I am not babying you. Far from it, you have detected and repelled the best attack I am capable of."

Ginny stared at her. "You're not lying to me?"

"I promise, I am not."

Ginny sat back in her seat. "So you can't help me?"

Mrs Tonks smiled. "Oh, now I wouldn't go that far…" Ginny waited for her to go on. "How would you like the chance to turn the tables and attack the teacher?"

"You want to teach me Legilimency?"

"I do."

Ginny smiled. "What do I do?"

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Author's notes:

Albus didn't see that one coming, did he?


	14. Chapter 14

Standard disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR. Except where I might use some song lyrics which I will call out at the time and give proper credit. Thank you JKR for letting us play with your toys.

I will continue to use the occasional song lyric in the story and will give credit at the time when needed.

This is the fourth book in my Slytherin Harry series. And I'm departing from reusing JKR's title because too much of the story has changed. I'll leave it up to all of you to decide just who the Blood Traitor's Daughter is. In my mind there is more than one candidate.

Book 1: Harry Potter and the Muggle's Daughter

Book 2: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Book 3: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Book 4: Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor's Daughter.

If you haven't read books 1-3 you won't know what's going on. But the bonus is you've got three completed books before you even get to this one!

And last, the disappointing bits.

First, because the site gives me such difficulty uploading, I've adjusted my writing to make things easier and made chapters generally shorter than in the past I try to keep things at about 5000 words because it just works best.

Second, to ensure I keep the production of new material ahead of the pace of my posting I'm afraid I have to go to every other week. I'm sorry, but I'm doing the best I can.

* * *

 **HARRY POTTER AND THE BLOOD TRAITOR'S DAUGHTER**

 **CHAPTER XIV**

 **Fissures**

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

"Hello, Bill," Andromeda greeted him on arriving at the Briar Patch.

"Hey, Andie. How is she?"

Andromeda smiled. "Improving. You will be pleased to know we resumed her Occlumency training tonight."

Bill quirked a brow. "Yeah?"

"You will also be happy to hear your sister is the most skilled Occlumens I have ever encountered. She far exceeds Harry, Hermione, or even myself."

Bill stared back at her. "You're joking."

"I am not. Your sister spent months battling that Horcrux, Bill. The battle was all day, every day, and was more ruthless than anything she would have encountered with me. And she eventually beat it. I had wondered what I would find when she asked me to resume her training. My suspicions have been confirmed."

Bill sat back in his chair. "So now what?"

"Now we begin her Legilimency training."

"Don't tell me she's better than you at that now too?"

Andromeda smiled. "No, she is not. Knowing your own mind is not the same as knowing how to imitate the mind of another. I expect she will improve rapidly, but right now she is rather like a freight train."

Bill considered. "But her mind is protected now. She couldn't be attacked like that again?"

"Her mind is protected. But it is never safe to assume there isn't someone better. If you do, you end up like certain people and find yourself arrested."

"Point taken," Bill agreed.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

With Halloween less than twenty-four hours from rearing its ugly head, Harry should have expected things to take a turn for the worse, but he was blindly enjoying life too much to think about it when Astoria called his name as he walked past the table she and her friends were at in the library, "Harry, can you help us for a second?"

"Sure, what's up?" Astoria had added two other Hufflepuffs, Jessica Tanner and Victoria Corbin to her group of friends. He grinned at Xui, Anwen, and Gwyneth. They'd not faltered at all in their friendship with Daphne's sister after she'd been sorted into Hufflepuff.

"Professor Flitwick set an essay on the Levitation Charm and how it's different from a Hover Charm but we're having trouble with it."

Harry grabbed a chair, spun it around so it was backwards and sat down. "So what is it you're having trouble with?"

"Well," Xui said, "pretty much everything."

Harry chuckled. "Can't figure how they're different?"

"Not really," Anwen said.

"The incantation is different," Jessica said, "Wingardium Leviosa verses Pendeo."

"But they do the same thing, don't they?" Gwyneth said.

Harry reached out and sorted through the pile of books they'd collected. "It's in here." He flipped it open and found the correct section before turning it around so they could see. The six girls crowded in.

"So they are the same thing?" Anwen asked.

"Kind of," Harry said. "Pendeo is a capture version of Wingardium. It's used to create things like brooms and flying carpets and such. He triggered the release for his wand. See my wand pulls my magic and helps me form whatever spell I want. Pendeo captures Wingardium in whatever object I cast it on. So then when I pick up a broom my magic activates the Pendeo in it. That along with Acceleration, and Braking Charms along with a host of other things working with my magic makes the broom fly."

"Sorry about that," Harry said, rejoining his friends after helping Astoria and hers.

Ginny snapped her book shut. "I'm done." She shoved her things in her bag and was up and gone before anyone could say a word.

Harry watched her go. "What did I do now?"

"You were flirting with Astoria," Daphne hissed. "Which, if I recall correctly, I specifically asked you not to."

Harry blinked rapidly. "I was helping your sister and her friends with an essay for Flitwick. I was _not_ flirting with her."

"Why did you ask him not to flirt with your sister?" Hermione asked.

"I wasn't flirting!" Harry snapped angrily.

"Oh please," Daphne muttered.

"Your sister asked for help. I did. How is that flirting?"

"You're always helping her. I don't appreciate you attempting to make Ginny jealous by leading my sister on."

Harry glowered at her. "Seriously? Helping someone when they ask is flirting? Well, I guess I won't help Luna with Astronomy anymore, wouldn't want to give her the wrong impression. And I certainly don't want to flirt with Neville so I won't be helping him with potions any longer. Hermione, you were apparently flirting with me when you helped me with Runes earlier. I'm don't mean to be rude or anything, but it's best I just nip it in the bud and tell you I'm not interested. Sorry about that. Oh, and I guess I won't be helping you with Defense the next time you have trouble, Daph. Apparently that's flirting and I really don't want Marcus to find out and thrash me. Especially as I'm not actually interested in flirting with you."

Daphne returned his glare. "I'm not even going to dignify that with a response." She gathered her things and shoved them in her bag.

"You just did," Harry retorted. She shot him a last look before walking off.

Harry crossed his arms angrily. He caught Hermione shooting looks at him. "What?"

"I didn't say anything."

"Good."

"Good… Though you have to admit you've paid her more attention than just about anyone else."

"Outside of you lot, her and her friends are the only ones who don't run for the hills the second they see me!"

"It still looks like you're flirting with her."

Harry shoved his books in his bag. "The hell with this."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Halloween fell on a Sunday and Dumbledore had moved Hogsmeade from Saturday to Sunday that week because of it. Harry had been looking forward to it because with six of them in their group and this being the third weekend of visits to the village he or Neville would get to choose where they went for lunch. Both of them were in agreement; they were going to The Three Broomsticks. But apparently his tiff with Daphne from the day before was spilling into today because he only found out she and Ginny had not waited for him to go up to the Great Hall for breakfast when Hermione had mirrored him to ask where he was and why he was late. He hurried into the hall to find only Hermione, Neville and Luna waiting for him at the Ravenclaw table. Ginny and Daphne were sitting with Daphne's other group of friends at the Slytherin table.

He slammed into his seat. "Let's pretend," he said, "for just one second, I _was_ actually flirting with Astoria. Exactly what right does Ginny have to be upset with me about that? I mean correct me if I'm wrong, but I am not her boyfriend by her choice, not mine, yes."

"I agree, completely," Luna said.

"So I have every right to be pissed at her?"

"I should think so."

Harry glanced at Hermione. "You're awful quite. Still think I was flirting with Astoria?"

"I never said you were. Just that it could be construed that way."

Harry glowered at her before shifting his focus to Neville. "Don't look at me, Mate. I know which girl you like."

"Thanks, Mate." Harry grabbed some toast and bacon and made himself a sandwich. He took a bite, chewed and swallowed. "I must be a masochist," he muttered before taking another bite.

"I won't argue with that," Neville said.

* * *

"You don't have to stay with me, you know," Harry said. Once again he was down at the quidditch pitch on Halloween. He'd managed to talk Neville and Luna into heading up to the castle for the feast but Hermione was another matter.

"I'm staying."

"Alright then."

They had been there near an hour when Hermione asked. "Do you want to go run in our Animagus?"

Harry shook his head. "Yes. But I can't."

"Haven't been practicing?" she asked.

"Pomfrey only said my leg was a hundred percent healed once we got back to school. I didn't want to risk transforming with a leg that was missing muscle like that."

"How long are you holding it?"

"Only about fifteen minutes."

"You're practicing every night?"

"Not really." She glanced at him. "Most nights it's all I can do to practice for Mrs Tonks."

"But I thought you were better. You're almost back to full strength and doing all your exercises and you're faster than me again now."

"Yeah, but it about kills me to do it."

"Oh."

"You know that film, Princess Bride?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I feel like Westley when they used that machine to torture him and take years from his life." Hermione stared at him. "It's just, you know, the poison was in everything. It hurt so much. Sometimes, at night, I swear I can still feel it in my bones."

"I wish I'd been there to help you."

"I'm glad you weren't." They fell silent for a while.

"Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"Please don't take this the wrong way, because I'm glad you were able to save her. But I'm really upset with the way she's treating you."

Harry sighed. "I know."

"Why are you putting up with it?"

"Because I've been where she is and I'm not ready to give up on her yet."

It was long after leaving Hermione outside the portrait of the Fat Lady and curfew that Harry eventually made his way back to the dungeons and the Slytherin dormitories. He was more than a bit surprised to find Ginny waiting for him in the common room. "I'm sorry for abandoning you today," she said when he spotted her. "I know today is hard for you."

"You're apologizing a lot lately."

"I'm sorry."

Harry watched her and for once she didn't look away. "Thanks." He turned to go.

"Harry."

He turned back. "Yes?"

Ginny started and stopped a number of times. "Do you think she's pretty?" she blurted.

Harry stared at Ginny till she began to fidget. "She looks like you, Ginny." He held her eyes for a few moments before walking away.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

The following day found Luna and Neville at Care of Magical Creatures. She did love the class but had been disappointed so few of her friends had continued it with her. She just didn't understand why they would choose History over this. Creatures were so much more interesting. For instance the hippogriff, Buckbeak, Hagrid was introducing them too was fascinating. And he was so beautiful. She felt herself lucky indeed to have been selected to try and greet him first. Class wasn't all good though. Being one of those classes that fewer students took meant she and Neville had been tossed in with Draco and a number of his friends. But she had been the only one to figure out how to open their book, the Monster Book of Monsters – you had to stroke the spine to calm it or it would try to bite you, it was quite obvious, really – and Hagrid had taken a bit of a shine to her. He really was a nice man. Though possibly a bit deranged. Raising a dragon, honestly. What had the man been thinking?

Neville rather thought Hagrid was nuts as well. And he hadn't even been involved in the dragon incident. He was glad not to be the first one to try and greet a Hippogriff himself, but he was quite concerned as Luna stepped forward. Hippogriffs, with their horse-like bodies, back legs and tail, were enormous. But it was the front, with the legs and heads of giant eagles that was truly frightening. Their beaks were cruel, steel coloured and very large. Their eyes were brilliant orange and the talons on their front legs were half a foot long and decidedly deadly looking. He barely even noticed the massive wings folded away.

"Right then, Luna," Hagrid encouraged. "Jus' make sure an' show 'im the proper respect an' ye'll be fine. They're proud creatures, Hippogriffs. Yeh need ter make certain to let 'im make the firs' move."

Luna walked straight to the creature and bowed respectfully. She'd never had trouble with animals and didn't expect she would now. Buckbeak watched her warily for a second, backing up a step and cocking his head. Luna held his eyes. "Oh, now don't pretend a big strong hippogriff like yourself is afraid of me," she chided.

"Le' 'em make the firs' move," Malfoy muttered. "God this place is going to the dogs. He can't even speak properly."

"Shut up, Drac," Neville warned.

"Careful, Longbottom," Draco snarled, "it's only you and the loony out here."

Neville straightened to his full height. "Bring it, Drac, you and your boyfriends don't scare me any more than you do Harry." The rest of the class laughed.

"Quiet," Hagrid snapped harshly

Buckbeak cocked his head the other direction before straightening and barking a harsh squawk at Luna. She straightened, crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently. "Now that was just rude," she reprimanded. Buckbeak snorted.

"Now, Luna," Hagrid said a bit uneasily. "Don' be—"

"Ehh!" She held her hand up, stopping him, but never taking her eyes from Buckbeak. The hippogriff cocked his head the other direction. "Got your attention now, have I?" Luna asked. The Hippogriff snorted. "Now, let's try this again," Luna said. She bowed to the creature again. Buckbeak cocked his head the other direction once more before slowly bending a scaly leg and dipping his head into an unmistakable bow. Luna smiled. "There now, that's my brave boy." She straightened and walked slowly forward. Buckbeak allowed her to approach and leaned into her hand eagerly as she scratched at his neck.

"Oh, well done, Luna," Hagrid began to clap. "Well done. You need to give 'em the proper respect but don' let 'em scare yeh either." All but Draco, Theodore, Tracey, Vincent and Gregory politely began to clap as well. Hagrid moved behind Luna. "I think he might let yeh' ride him if yeh like." Without a word he scooped Luna up and set her on Buckbeak's back. "Jus' don' grab his feathers. He won' thank yeh for tha." He slapped the hippogriff's hindquarters. "Go on then!"

"OH!" Luna cried. As quickly as Hagrid scooped her up, the hippogriff spread it's humongous wings and launched into a run. Three heart-pounding beats of its wings later and they were in the air. Luna grabbed the beast around the neck and held on for dear life. She loved animals as much as anyone but this was a bit more than she bargained for! The hippogriff's wings beat uncomfortable on either side of her, catching her under her legs and making it feel as if she was about to be thrown off at any second. She was rocking back and forth as the hindquarters of the beast rose and fell with its wings and its silvery feathers slipped through her fingers. She desperately wanted to grip them tighter but feared she'd hurt him if she did. The hippogriff made two loops of the paddock before heading for the ground. She leaned all the way back, nearly laying down as the beast's head dipped downward, praying she wouldn't slide right off. With a great thud the front and back legs landed, jostling her about. The hippogriff trotted about with her for a few seconds and she slowly got her hammering heart under control. She shakily brushed her hair from her face and slid off the creature's back the first second she could.

"Good work, Luna!" Hagrid roared as people cheered. "Righ' then, who else wants a go?"

Emboldened, the rest of the class stepped forward. Luna stumbled to a bench and sat down. "Alright there, Luna?" Neville asked.

"Oh yes," she said, all flustered. "Though I shant like to do that again. Not without a saddle." She gave herself a little shake.

Neville chuckled. "Well you were brilliant."

"Why thank you." By now the rest of the class was bowing to different hippogriffs all over the paddock. "It _was_ quite thrilling."

"This is hardly difficult at all," Draco's voice cut through the crowd. He and his friends had taken over Buckbeak and he was patting the beast's beak. "I knew it had to be, if the loony could do it… I bet you're not dangerous at all, are you?" he gave the hippogriff a bit harder smack on the beak. "Are you, you great ugly brute?"

Without warning, steely talons flashed; Draco let out a high-pitched scream and collapsed to the ground. Hagrid ran forward and wrestled Buckbeak back into his collar. Malfoy lay on the ground, blood blossoming over his robes.

"I'm dying!" Malfoy shrieked. "I'm dying, look at me! It's killed me!"

"Yer not dyin'!" Hagrid said. Though he'd gone very white. "Someone help me… Got ter get 'im outta here."

Luna rushed to open the gate as Hagrid lifted Draco easily. As they passed, she saw that there was a long, deep gash on Draco's arm; blood splattered the grass as Hagrid ran with him up the slope to the castle. She made sure to close and secure the gate before following along with Neville and the rest of the class.

"This is going to be bad," Neville hissed.

"It was his own fault," Luna said.

"I know, but this is Draco. He's sure to blame Hagrid and Buckbeak."

"You don't think they'll hurt Buckbeak do you?"

Neville shrugged. "I don't know."

It was a subdued pair that joined the rest of their friends for dinner. Daphne and Ginny were sitting with them again, though it seemed Harry and Daphne were still angry with each other.

"Draco will milk this for everything he can," Daphne observed.

"Ya think?" Harry muttered.

"Yes, yes I do. I'm certain his father will try to get Hagrid fired. He will most likely also ask that the beast be put to death."

"He wouldn't!" Hermione and Luna exclaimed.

"Oh yes he would," Daphne countered. "Father says Lord Malfoy is a vicious, cruel man. Draco has no idea how lucky he is to be an only child. A younger brother who was smarter, more skilled or more powerful would be all the reason his father needed to slit his throat."

The others stared at her in horror. "Then why on earth would he demand Buckbeak be put to death?" Hermione asked.

"Because Draco _is_ an only child."

"We have to do something!" Luna cried.

"We will," Harry said. He dug two phials from his bag and passed them to Luna and Neville "We'll send Director Bones your memories of what happened. And well get them from the rest of your classmates as well."

Hermione wrapped her arm around Luna's shoulder. "And we'll make sure Buckbeak has the best lawyer money can buy. Buckbeak will be fine. You'll see."

"Promise?" Luna sniffed.

"Promise," Hermione and Harry said. Neither noticed Daphne shaking her head, warning them not to.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

"Alright class," Professor Lupin said, he paced slowly across the front of them, "quiet down now." He paused in his pacing when the large armoire set on the step behind him shook with a loud bang. That got the attention of his students and they were rather quicker than normal, quiet. He gave the class a small smile. "Nothing to worry about." As if it disagreed, the armoire shook with another bang.

"Meep!" a voice from behind her, Hermione wasn't certain who, squeaked.

"There's a boggart in there," Professor Lupin went on. The boggart seemed to want to confirm this declaration because the armoire shook with the loudest bang yet. Professor Lupin paused in his pacing and eyed the armoire. "It would appear to be a rather perturbed boggart at that." Hermione glanced about the class. The looks on most faces seemed to convey the thought that any boggart, never mind one that was _rather perturbed_ , was something to worry about. Neville was watching the now rattling doorknob intently.

"Boggarts," Professor Lupin went on, "like dark, enclosed spaces; the cupboard under the stairs, the gap beneath beds… armoires—" The boggart seemed to be paying as strict attention to Professor Lupin's lecture as his students and banged against the door just then. "—I've even met one that took up residence in a grandfather clock. I found this one in the staffroom yesterday and convinced the headmaster to have it moved here so we could have a bit of practice."

"So, the first question we must ask ourselves is, what _is_ a boggart?"

Hermione put her hand up. Professor Lupin waited a second to see if anyone else might answer before nodding for her to go on. "It's a shape-shifter," she said, "and a mind reader. It will take the shape of whatever frightens us most."

"Very good," Professor Lupin answered. Hermione's hand shot in the air again. "Yes Hermione?"

"What about the Occlumens?"

Professor Lupin tipped his head. "Very good, again. Take five points, Hermione." Hermione seemed to almost glow with his praise. Professor Lupin had been very difficult to earn points from for her. "The Mind Magic of Occlumency does not provide a defense against the boggart." He smiled at Hermione. She swallowed. "So then, the boggart, sitting in the darkness, has no form that wizard-kind knows of. That is to say, nobody knows what a boggart looks like when it is alone, but the moment I let him, or her, out it will immediately become whatever each of us fears most." He ignored the soft moan of Lavender Brown.

"This means that we have a huge advantage over the boggart before we begin… Has anyone spotted it…? Neville?" The boggart chose then to give another bang within the armoire. Neville stared at the armoire, his mouth hanging open. "Neville?" Professor Lupin prodded him.

"Erm," he said, his eyes darting between the professor and the armoire, "b–because there – there are so many of us – us?" He glanced at Hermione she grinned at him. Neville straightened.

"Precisely," Professor Lupin said. "If you suspect you're dealing with a boggart, the best thing to do is get help. When faced with more than one witch or wizard, the boggart becomes confused and doesn't know which form to take. I once saw a boggart make that very mistake… Tried to frighten two people at once and turned itself into a half redheaded woman and a bearded old man. Which, while disturbing, was not particularly frightening.

"Now, it is all well and good if you've a friend about when confronting a boggart, but the point of this class is what to do when you don't. The very first thing you must do is to find a way of turning what frightens you most into something funny… Ron, would you mind telling us what it is you think your boggart will turn into?"

The class turned to him, and the boggart, proving it had the timing to act on stage, rattled the armoire. Ron stared at the armoire with terror in his eyes. "S–S–Spid–de–de—"

"Spiders?" Professor Lupin offered.

Ron nodded shakily. "Ye–Yeah."

Professor Lupin rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I suppose it'd be a rather large spider too, wouldn't it?"

"It would?" Ron croaked.

Professor Lupin nodded. "Most certainly." Ron turned white as a sheet. "I wonder though, what do you suppose would happen to a spider big enough to have roller skates on its feet…? That might be kind of funny, don't you think?"

Ron stared back at the professor. "M–Maybe."

Professor Lupin grinned. "There. A fear turned funny. Take five points for being brave enough to share your fear, Ron." Ron just nodded.

"Now," Professor Lupin went on, "that is the difficult bit of fighting a boggart. If you can do that, then the rest is easy. First the incantation. Everyone after me… Riddikulus!"

"Riddikulus!" the class said together.

"Be very precise… Riddikulus!"

"Riddikulus!"

"And again."

"Riddikulus!"

"Very good. Wands out." There was a quick rustling of noise as students hurried to comply. "The movement is a slash followed by a sharp jab." He demonstrated. "Now you." The class went through the motions a few times. "Mr Finnigan, not so big a slash. Be short and quick, don't waste time or it'll be the boggart laughing instead of you."

"Yes, Sir." He did the movement again. "Better." For another few minutes the class went about practicing the movement while Professor Lupin observed and made corrections. "Alright then," Professor Lupin called. The class quickly turned their attention back to him. "Now, Ron is going to start us off—" Ron paled but stepped forward. "—But once he has turned our boggart into a slip-sliding-tangle-of-legs it is likely going to come after someone else. And it will change forms when it does. So each of you needs to be ready. You need to have your thought in mind of what the boggart will become and how you are going to make that funny." He paused and looked at them all significantly. "Are you all ready?" The class exchanged looks but nods were given all around and sleeves were rolled up. They were ready.

"Very good," Professor Lupin said. "Ron, you're up." Ron moved in front of the armoire with his wand out. "Here we go," Professor Lupin said and opened the door. A very long, very hairy, very ugly leg stepped out. More legs followed. And then a great ugly head with nasty pincers clicking audibly. Huge, multifaceted eyes. A body as big as a small play-pool and then the rest of its legs. Hermione backed away and a number of people screamed.

Ron's hand shook like a leaf in a typhoon. "R–R–Riddikulus!" he croaked.

There was a noise like a whip crack and suddenly four of the spider's legs had roller skates on them. "Again!" Professor Lupin roared.

"Riddikulus!" Ron cried. _Crack_! And suddenly the spider was flailing its legs like it was doing some crazed dance. It lost all control and fell with a loud thud flat on its belly. Hermione couldn't help but giggle. Apparently neither could the rest of the class.

"Parvati, Forward!" Professor Lupin shouted.

Her face set, she walked forward. The spider stopped flailing its legs about. _Crack_! Suddenly a blood-stained and bandaged mummy had taken its place. Its sightless face focused on Parvati. Stiff arms came up and it lurched towards her.

"Riddikulus!" Parvati cried.

The bandages at the mummy's feet unraveled. It became entangled, fell face forward and its head fell off, bouncing across the floor with a _Boing, Boing, Boing_ sound.

"Seamus!" Professor Lupin roared.

He darted past Parvati.

 _Crack!_ A woman with stringy black hair that hung in clumps to the floor replaced the mummy. Her face was skeletal and sickly-green. It was a banshee! She opened her mouth and the most horrible, unearthly, wailing shriek, that made the hair on Hermione's arms stand on end, issued forth.

"Riddikulus!" Seamus shouted.

 _Crack!_ The banshee was suddenly silent, a large rubber ball was stuffed in its mouth. A number of people laughed. _Crack!_ The banshee turned into a large rat, which chased its tail in a circle, then — _crack! —_ became a rattlesnake, which slithered and writhed and bit its own tail before — _crack! —_ becoming a single bloody eyeball.

"It's confused!" Professor Lupin shouted. "We're getting there! Millicent!"

The large Slytherin girl hurried forward. _Crack!_ The eyeball became a cross between a rat and a dog. It had long, needle-like teeth and was missing its hindquarters. It pulled itself along the floor by its front legs, trailing entrails and blood behind. "Riddikulus!" Millicent snarled. _Crack!_ The rat-dog's tongue was caught in a mousetrap and it lay there whimpering. Hermione cringed. It didn't seem particularly funny to her.

"Hermione!" Professor Lupin shouted.

She hurried forward, her mind already set on what she wanted. She had been an animagus for years already. She knew her shadow practically as well as her form and was very much looking forward to turning the tables on it for once. _Crack!_

"Riddi—" Hermione stopped, confused. "Daddy?"

He sneered at her. "Daddy? Daddy? You dare call me that?"

"I – I – I—"

"I – I – I," he taunted. "God, listen to you. Annoying little bookworm. Why weren't you a boy!" he roared. "And you're—"

Professor Lupin rushed between her and the boggart. _Crack!_ Hermione's father became a silvery orb floating in the air. "Riddikulus!" he barked harshly. The orb turned into a red balloon that spluttered its way about the room. It landed limply on Neville's head before it exploded into a cloud of smoke and was gone.

Hermione let out a sob and ran from the room. "Neville," Professor Lupin ordered, "go after her." Neville ran out the door.

* * *

Hermione entered the Room of Requirement for her lesson with Mrs Tonks and quietly closed the door. She was still reeling from her encounter with the boggart. Neville had been wonderful in coming after her. And all of her friends had rallied around her. But the ever-efficient Hogwarts' rumor mill had gone into overdrive and everyone knew what had happened. She didn't know if she hated Malfoy's sickening smirk or the pitying looks of others more. The only saving grace was Professor Lupin had stopped the boggart revealing she liked girls.

"Hey there, little girl."

Hermione looked up sharply. "Daddy?" He opened his arms. She let out a sob and ran to him. He caught her up, easily holding her with one arm around her middle while cradling her head in his other hand.

"I have never, not for even one second, wished you were a boy."

* * *

"What the hell were you thinking!" Harry yelled.

Remus bowed his head painfully. "I wasn't, obviously."

Harry glared at the man who, in everything but blood, was his father. He didn't think he'd ever been so angry in his life. No, check that, he'd been this angry with Sirius when he'd first met the man. "You realize now the whole school thinks her father hates her? Not everyone's greatest fear is a monster or the bloody damn full moon you know!"

"Harry," Remus pleaded, "I'm sorry. You know I love Hermione. She's as much a daughter to me, as you are son to David and Mali. I would never, purposely, do anything to hurt her."

Harry clenched his jaw tightly. "Yeah, well you did!" He turned on his heel and left, slamming the door so hard it cracked the frame. Remus didn't bother calling after him. Harry was his mother's son and until he cooled off, if you wanted to keep your head, you best keep your distance. At least it had been his office door and there were no witnesses. Harry taking his temper out like that on him would be a dead giveaway they were far closer than Albus believed.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Author's notes:

Yeah, I know, that was a really mean thing to do to Hermione.


	15. Chapter 15

Standard disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR. Except where I might use some song lyrics which I will call out at the time and give proper credit. Thank you JKR for letting us play with your toys.

I will continue to use the occasional song lyric in the story and will give credit at the time when needed.

This is the fourth book in my Slytherin Harry series. And I'm departing from reusing JKR's title because too much of the story has changed. I'll leave it up to all of you to decide just who the Blood Traitor's Daughter is. In my mind there is more than one candidate.

Book 1: Harry Potter and the Muggle's Daughter

Book 2: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Book 3: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Book 4: Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor's Daughter.

If you haven't read books 1-3 you won't know what's going on. But the bonus is you've got three completed books before you even get to this one!

And last, the disappointing bits.

First, because the site gives me such difficulty uploading, I've adjusted my writing to make things easier and made chapters generally shorter than in the past I try to keep things at about 5000 words because it just works best.

Second, to ensure I keep the production of new material ahead of the pace of my posting I'm afraid I have to go to every other week. I'm sorry, but I'm doing the best I can.

* * *

 **HARRY POTTER AND THE BLOOD TRAITOR'S DAUGHTER**

 **CHAPTER XV**

 **Rip Tides**

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Ginny picked at the duvet. "I just can't stand the idea I was born to be with him. I mean how would you feel?" Daphne just raised an eye at her. "Right, sorry… I thought you were mad at him for leading Astoria on?"

Daphne blushed. "I think I may have overreacted there."

"He's still helping her," Ginny pointed out.

"He helps all of them. To be fair, I think they may all have a crush on him." Ginny stared at her. "Don't be obtuse, Ginny. Harry is attractive, he's powerful, he's intelligent, and he has been kind to them. Find me any first-year who wouldn't crush on an older boy like that."

Ginny groaned. "You're right."

"Honestly, I think half the girls in the school are crushing on him. I even heard a couple seventh-years saying they wished he was a year or two older. Frankly, if he were to give them the time of day I don't think they'd care." A decided smirk crossed her face. "Actually, if I weren't betrothed and he showed me even the tiniest bit of interest I'd snog him in a heartbeat." Ginny cocked her head back. Daphne laughed. "Was that vulgar enough for you?"

Ginny cracked a smile and swatted at her. "It was passable. If you really wanted to be vulgar you'd say you wanted to jump his bones."

Daphne's eyes widened. "Does that mean what I think it means?"

Ginny smirked. "Depends, do you think it means you wanted to have sex with him?"

Daphne blushed. "Where do you even learn these things?"

"Six older brothers," Ginny reminded her.

Daphne giggled. "Well, let me tell you, I'd snog Bill or Charlie in a heartbeat."

Ginny laughed. "You and half the girls at Hogwarts. I can't even tell you how many girlfriends Bill had."

"A fair few, I imagine."

"Dozens," Ginny said.

Daphne leaned forward and took Ginny's hands. "Ginny, why does it matter if you were born to be with him? Most girls would be thrilled by the idea. I'd be thrilled; to think I was part of some epic romance."

Ginny shrugged. "I don't know, Daph. I can't explain it different than I have. You know what _He_ did to me. You've had your choice taken away and I can't understand how you don't hate that."

"He notices you, Ginny," Daphne said. "And I mean everything. It wouldn't surprise me at all if he remembers ever single word you've ever said to him."

"And that's supposed to make me feel better? That's scary is what that is."

"Why?"

"Because it is!"

Daphne sighed. "You know, maybe you're looking at this all wrong. And mind you, I'm not agreeing at all that you were born to be with him. Maybe you were, maybe you weren't, but since you seem to be hung up on it, maybe you shouldn't think about it that you were born to be with him. Maybe you should think about the idea Harry was born to be with you." Ginny furrowed her brow. She _hadn't_ really thought of it like that. "I know it looks like everyone is afraid of him, but I really believe that if Harry chose to he could have any girl in this school. He wants you, Ginevra… You just have to decide if you want him."

"We're _thirteen_ ," Ginny said.

"One, you are speaking with the girl whom was engaged over a hundred years before she was born. Two, if you think it so impossible to find your husband at thirteen, then why are you so convinced accepting what you feel for him means just that?"

"I don't know," Ginny wailed. "I just know I'm too young to fall in love forever."

"Then go out with someone else."

Ginny rocked back. "What?"

"You heard me. Find some boy you think is good looking and snog him for a month or two or ten."

"You're joking."

"I most certainly am not."

"I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because I can't."

"That doesn't answer the question."

"Because I don't want to, okay!"

"Because the only boy you're interested in is Harry?"

"Oh shut up already, will you?"

"Ginny," Daphne sighed, "if you keep this up you _will_ lose him."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

"You're not going to tell the others?" Daphne asked. Once again she and Ginny were in their room sitting on Ginny's bed.

Ginny shook her head. "No."

"I don't know, Ginny," Daphne hedged. "They're our friends. I don't feel right not asking them."

Ginny pressed her lips together. "Look, what if we just found our forms without them and then told them?" Daphne still looked unsure. Ginny grabbed her hands. "Please, Daph, I just… look, everything we do comes from Harry and Hermione; they lead, we follow. Just, for once, I want to do _something_ without them. We'll learn our forms and then invite them to learn with us."

Daphne considered. "You're not even going to tell Luna?"

"Luna will understand." Daphne frowned. "Please, Daph," Ginny pleaded. "I just _need_ to do something without their help."

Daphne studied her for a second. "You swear we'll tell them once we learn our forms?"

"Cross my heart, pinky swear," Ginny said. She crossed her heart and held her hand out.

Daphne rolled her eyes. "Pinky swear," she agreed, hooking her pinking with Ginny's.

"Done."

"Done… I can't believe we're going to do this," Daphne gushed. "What do you think your form will be?"

"I don't know. I think I'd like to be some kind of a bird maybe, or a cat."

"Well you certainly fly well enough, a bird might make sense. I'm not certain about a cat, though you can be aloof."

"Well thanks a lot," Ginny swatted at her. "I was more thinking about how graceful they are."

"You, graceful? You're more an eruption waiting to happen."

"Ha – Ha, Miss Posh. I'm certain you'll be a cat."

Daphne sniffed. "I'd be very happy to be a cat; a lioness seems appropriate, queen of the jungle."

Ginny snorted. "Queen of la-di-da, and Oh, I can't possibly get out of bed I've broken a claw, more like."

Daphne stuck her nose up in the air. "Just because some of us were raised with the manners to not chew with our mouths open."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Harry was sitting at breakfast a few weeks before the Christmas hols were to begin when he felt he was being watched. He glanced up. Ginny was staring at him with shocked eyes. "What?"

Luna, Neville and Daphne focused on him. "What, what?" Daphne asked. Her eyes went wide. "Oh, my." Neville snickered and Luna bit her lips.

It was then Harry became aware his hair was a bit longer than normal. In fact, it was nearly as long as Ginny's. And it was red. He grabbed a handful and pulled it in front of his face. He then kicked Hermione, who had yet to remove her nose from her book, in the shin. "OWW! What was that… Lovely hair, Harry," she snickered.

"Oh, like you don't know. Bloody hell, I think it's still growing."

Luna giggled. "Harry, I knew you liked Ginevra's hair, but just because she's dyed hers black, this is going a bit far don't you think?"

"I'm certain you can borrow her shampoo if you like," Daphne teased.

"Maybe it's strawberry scented. Draco will love it," Neville chortled. The four girls lost it.

"Ha – Ha," Harry retorted. "Which one of you did it?"

Surprisingly all of them but for Hermione raised their hands. "Not me," she said. "Which reminds me."

"YEOW!" Harry howled, rubbing his shin.

"Teach you to kick me," Hermione said.

Just then, Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum and Wee Lee Willie Winkie made an appearance. "Hey there, Potter," one of the twins said.

"Can't help but notice you've changed your appearance," the other said.

"Don't get us wrong," the first twin said.

"Red hair _is_ a mark of extreme intelligence."

"Some would say lack of intelligence," Lee countered.

"And there has been a shortage of redheads in the school since Gin-Gin here dyed hers."

"But we can't help but think."

"You may have taken it a bit far," they finished together.

Harry narrowed his eyes at them. "You did this?"

The twins and Lee held their hands up. "Why-ever would you say something like that?" they asked, grinning broadly.

"Oh, it is so on," Harry growled. The twins leaned forward eagerly. One of them slapped a sheet of parchment on the table. Harry glanced at it. "Terms of Engagement?" he asked looking up.

"We'd prefer to avoid a repeat of last year," Lee said.

"We love a good prank," twin on the right said. Harry decided he was Tweedle Dee till further notice.

"And will freely admit," Tweedle Dum said, "we probably deserved some of what you did last year."

"But things did get a tad out of hand, yeah?" Tweedle Dee asked. "Hence the need for Terms of Engagement." Harry turned his attention to the parchment. He wasn't going to cop to anything from last year.

 **Prank War Terms of Engagement**

 **1) All participants agree, no pranks shall be**

 **perpetrated on subject of said prank while said subject is in class.**

 **2) All pranks will be restricted to a maximum**

 **half-hour time limit.**

 **3) Pranks will be executed in a manner so as to not cause loss of House points by the subject of said prank.**

 **4) Pranks will be executed in a manner so as to not cause the subject of said prank to serve detention.**

 **5) Pranks will not interfere with quidditch practice or matches in any way.**

 **6) The first prankster to successfully perpetrate**

 **10 pranks on a single subject will be declared Prank King (or Queen) of the school for the year and be awarded the Golden Prank Plank.**

"The Golden Prank Plank?" Harry asked.

Tweedle Dum pulled a snort plank of wood, painted gold, from his robes and set it on the table. The words, GOLDEN PRANK PLANK, were stenciled in black on it. "Winner gets their name, and the year they won added to it. Next year we start over."

Harry eyed them for a second before glancing at his friends. Neville looked like he wanted nothing to do with it. Luna was filing a nail. Ginny, Daphne and Hermione just looked mildly amused. He turned back to the twins. "Are you lot a single entity?"

"All subjects are considered single entities," Tweedle Dee said. "You can partner with anyone you want to perpetrate a prank, but credit is split for it. If two people execute a prank on one person, they each get credit for a half prank."

"What if two people execute the prank on two subjects?" Hermione asked. "Is that a half prank or a full earned?"

The twins and Lee exchanged a look. "It's a half prank earned on each subject," Lee said.

"Remember," Tweedle Dee said, "the goal isn't ten total pranks."

"It's ten pranks on a single subject," Tweedle Dum said.

"How do we keep score?" Harry asked. "What's to stop someone claiming a prank that isn't theirs?"

"It's in the parchment," Lee said. "If you've signed, it will automatically know."

"Really?" Hermione asked. "That's some impressive spell work." She pulled out her wand and started examining the contract. Ginny leaned in as well. "That's the Protean Charm, right?" Hermione asked.

Ginny nodded. "Yes, see how it will link with our Runic names?" She glanced up at her brothers. "This is really impressive."

"How do you know that?" Tweedle Dee demanded. "That's sixth-year material, that is. Took us from the start of term to figure that out."

Ginny shrugged. "Guess you should have spent some time with the curse puzzles Bill sent me."

"Does it look safe?" Harry asked.

"Near as I can tell," Ginny said. "At least it won't kill you."

"It won't kill me," Harry muttered. "Good to know."

"Right then," Tweedle Dum said, "What do you say, Potter?"

"What about me?" Ginny demanded.

"Annoying little sisters are allowed," Tweedle Dee said. "But it's a limited time offer."

"Brilliant," Ginny said. She pulled a pen from her bag and signed. "I've been waiting years for this."

Harry grabbed the pen from her. "Sirius would disown me if I didn't."

Hermione took the pen next. "You three have no idea what you're dealing with." She offered the pen to Luna.

"We have weapons you haven't even dreamed of," Luna said. She offered the pen to Neville.

"Do I have to?" he asked.

"Of course not, Neville," Daphne said. "Prank War indeed. What are you lot, five?"

"What's the matter, Daph," Harry taunted, "afraid to roll in the mud with the commoners?"

"No, I'm afraid the mud will grow too deep and, short as you are, you'll not be able to touch bottom."

Harry focused on the twins and Lee. "You'll have to excuse, Posh, here. She seems to think life is beneath her."

"At barely being taller than an house elf, _you_ certainly are."

Harry focused on her. "You know, Daph, just cause you don't sign, doesn't mean I can't prank you."

She glared back at him. "Prank me and I shall inform my fiancée."

Harry cringed; he'd forgotten that detail. "Right, no pranking the engaged chick."

"Fiancée?" the twins asked together?

"Bit young, aint ya?" Lee asked.

"You did not just call me a chick," Daphne hissed.

"She's betrothed to Marcus Flint," Harry said.

The twins and Lee exchanged a look. "Right," they all agreed, "no pranking the engaged chick."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

The next week saw the participants of the prank war all suffer a number of semi-embarrassing but harmless mishaps. Hair had been a favorite target; either lengthening, shortening and or changing of colours had happened to all of them. Harry had sported an impressive rainbow through lunch one day courtesy of Luna. He'd repaid her with a long black beard. One of the twins, Fred according to the parchment, had also gotten he and Hermione by switching their shoes. It hadn't been a big deal for Hermione; he usually just wore loafers or even trainers. But Harry had not appreciated having his feet stuffed in the low healed dress shoe Hermione wore to class. He still had no idea what a Kitten Heel was, all he knew is his toes had been pinched mercilessly for the half-hour he was forced to suffer them. Fred, George and Lee had all been turned into a pygmy goat, pot bellied pig and ostrich respectively and Ginny had been forced to sit through dinner one night with horns and a devil tail for which she had sworn revenge on her brothers if it was the last thing she ever did. Harry kept quiet his thoughts that, at times, she was actually a bit of a devil. He'd not seen it much since first-year, but the prank war seemed to be bringing it out of her.

But it was Hermione who had taken the early lead. She had zeroed in on the twins and taken full advantage of the fact she shared a house with them and that while they couldn't get up the stairs to the girls' dormitory, there was nothing stopping her from booby-trapping their room. She'd quickly succeeded in getting three total pranks on both of Ginny's brothers and two on Lee before the other six pranksters forced her to accept a modification to the rules that made it off limits to enter another participant's room.

Harry and Ginny had found a new method of getting to people though and were just waiting for the fun to begin. He'd been quite surprised when she'd approached him with the _how_ , and asked him if he had an idea for a _what_ to go with it, but wasn't going to complain that she seemed to almost be treating him like first-year again. He'd been more than happy to conspire with her. And getting all five of the other pranksters at the same time, well, that was going to be epic. So it was they were at dinner trying not to give anything away. Really, it hadn't been hard at all getting into the laundry room. And who really cared if the whole school had the triggering agent in their drinks when only the five targets were infected with the Action Charms. It started with the victims all simultaneously putting their forks down and climbing up on the bench. Harry turned so he could see the Gryffindor table.

Twin one held his hands up and loudly cleared his voice. "Ahem."

As the rest of the students slowly stilled, twin two picked up the monologue. "Your."

"Attention," Lee called

"Please," Luna added. There was a short pause while their now rapt audience held its collective breath.

"Roses," Hermione began

"are Red," twin one said.

"Violets," twin two said.

"are Blue," Lee said.

"Harry," Luna said.

"and Ginny," Hermione said.

All five victims faced the perpetrators and said, "We bow down to you," while raising their arms and doing just that. As quickly as it began four of the five retook their seats.

Twin one remained standing on the bench. "That is all," he said and dropped into his seat.

Harry held his hand out to Ginny she fist bumped him. "BOOM!" they said together. It took about five seconds before the hall burst into laughter. Harry grinned maniacally at Hermione.

"You are so dead," she growled.

"Flatulent fizz shall be involved," Luna added with a sharp nod.

The second week of the prank war saw Harry and Ginny mercilessly ganged up on by the others. No amount of precautions or Finite Incantatems or even the drinking of Neutralizing Potions spared them. They'd been hit with Flatulence Fizz twice, turned into horned toads and bullfrogs respectively, Harry's nose hair had grown to a foot in length and Ginny had been forced to traverse the distance between the Great Hall and the library only able to move by hopping on her right foot four times followed by a backwards hop on her left before she could move forward on her right again. Harry had been forced to recite the alphabet backwards every time someone said his name while Ginny had been made to twirl like a ballerina whenever someone said the word quidditch.

Harry hated to admit it, but he really kind of hoped Luna got him again soon so it would all be over. Unfortunately, with her so close to winning the other pranksters had turned to protecting him from her. That might have sounded good on the surface. However, but for Ginny, he was the leading target for everyone else as well. So, while they were protecting him from Luna they were all still trying to get him themselves. He'd ingested so many action and neutralizing agents in the last two weeks his stomach was starting to feel a bit queasy. He really hadn't expected things would move so fast when he'd signed on, figuring it would take most of the rest of the year for someone to successfully target one person ten times.

It had been fun though. Meals now brought a palpable sense of anticipation from the rest of the students as they gleefully waited to see whom would be hit next. Betting pools had been set up and all of the combatants had been receiving suggestions from other students on what they should try next… Some of the suggestions were a bit scary.

But the best thing to have come out of it was a return to almost normal in his relationship with Ginny. For the first time since the Chamber, he felt like they were actually friends again. For that alone he'd decided the twins were ok… He was still going to find a way of permanently pranking one of them so he could tell them apart just as soon as their war was over though.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Ginny awoke at the base of a massive spire. Directly in front of her was a small bit of shoreline to a sea that widened as it stretched far into the distance. It was like a giant piece of pie with a hard line of jungle edging the right side of the slice while grassy savannah edged the left. Cautiously she moved to her left, making her way around the base of the spire. It was probably only a few hundred feet around and she found that opposite the sea a vast desert separated the savannah and jungle. Each of the sections, sea, savannah, desert and jungle formed a pie shaped quadrant and far, far in the distance she could make out snow-capped mountains. Not sure what to do she wandered back and forth on the beach for a bit; stopping when she found what looked to be a fire pit. It didn't look to have been used recently, but there was definitely a ring of stones surrounding a pile of embers. There were also a number of sticks that could be used as a spit, a sharp bit of obsidian that looked to have dried blood on it and a very flat stone with scratch marks on it that looked like someone had used it for a cutting board.

She glanced about nervously. Was it possibly someone lived in her Spirit Realm? "Hello?" she called. In answer there was a scattering of rocks from behind her. She spun around. "Who's there! Come out where I can see you!" Smiling malevolently, Tom Riddle slipped silently around the edge of the spire. Ginny screamed and scrabbled away, stumbling over a bit of driftwood she fell back on her bum. Tom just smirked and without a word walked to the sea where he pulled a trap she hadn't noticed from the water. Inside was a large fish that he plucked from the trap. He turned to face her, and never breaking eye contact, raised the fish to his mouth and tore a bite out of its back with his bare teeth. Frozen with fear Ginny could do nothing but watch. He dropped the fish, holding it in place with his foot before spitting the bite he had taken into his hand. Picking up the trap he fixed the bit of flesh in it and tossed it back in the water. He then picked the fish up, made his way up the beach to where a large driftwood tree had been deposited, sat with his back to it and proceeded to eat the rest of the fish, fins, guts, head, bones and all.

Ginny couldn't look away and was certain she was going to be sick. What was this? Had they brewed the potion wrong? She'd been certain it was correct. Despite Snape's best efforts, neither she, nor Daphne, were a slouch in potions; certainly not the savant, Harry's mum was, but the hardest bit about the potion was finding it in the library and then making sure one of them had been able to stir it every hour for the week it brewed. They'd been exhausted by the time it was done, but it had perfectly matched the description of being a very light lavender colour with the viscosity of water. Tom picked then to begin randomly tossing stones from where he was sitting into the water and she was so focused on her thoughts and making certain Tom stayed where he was she didn't notice something else had joined them.

"I SEE YOU HAVE MET YOUR SHADOW."

Ginny screamed and bolted, only coming to a stop when she realized she was running towards Tom. He stopped throwing rocks and turned to face her, a giddy smile on his face. She skidded to a stop and turned back the other direction. "Ohhhh," she cringed.

The dragon bowed to her. "I AM CALLED ELITHEON." Ginny's mouth flapped soundlessly and her head whipped back and forth between the dragon and Tom. Tom leeringly licked his lips and went back to tossing stones in the water. "BE GONE, SHADOW," the dragon rumbled. Tom stood, mockingly bowed to Ginny, and arrogantly strolled away. Ginny stared after him before slowly turning to the dragon.

She stared at it for a few seconds before collapsing to her bum. "Bloody hell."

The dragon chuckled and settled it's great body to the ground. It studied her for a time before rumbling, "WHY HAVE YOU COME SORCERESS?"

Ginny stared at the great beast. "What is going on?"

The dragon considered her a second. "YOU HAVE UNDERTAKEN A SPIRIT WALK. I REPEAT, WHY?"

"Erm, to find my Life Spirit?"

The dragon appeared thoughtful. "HMMM."

"You aren't my life spirit, are you?" Ginny asked. The dragon narrowed its eyes at her. "Not that, that wouldn't be brilliant," she hastened to add.

The dragon snorted, sending a burst of warm air over her head. Ginny couldn't help cringing. "NO, I AM NOT."

"O–Okay. Would you mind telling me which of my guides you are?"

"I am the Messenger."

Ginny nodded. "And… that… he—"

"TOM?"

Ginny nodded. "Yes, he's my S–Shadow?"

"HE IS, NOW."

"Now," Ginny frowned, "what do you mean?"

"HE IS YOUR SHADOW NOW. HE WAS NOT ALWAYS."

"He wasn't?"

"THE SHADOW IS A REPRESENTATION OF YOUR FEARS. WHAT ONE FEARS VERY OFTEN CHANGES. THE SHADOW CAN THEREFORE CHANGE TO BETTER REPRESENT THOSE FEARS. YOUR FEARS HAVE RECENTLY CHANGED. YOUR SHADOW CHANGED WHEN THEY DID."

"Oh," Ginny said.

"TELL ME, SORCERESS, DO YOU THINK IT WISE TO CONTINUE THIS JOURNEY AT THIS TIME?

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't it be?"

"TO COMPLETE THE JOURNEY YOU HAVE BEGUN, ONE MUST BE WILLING TO EMBRACE WHAT THEY FIND. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE READY TO DO SO?"

"My Life Spirit is my inner being, why wouldn't I embrace that?"

The dragon nodded. "A GOOD QUESTION. IF YOU THINK YOU ARE READY, THE OTHERS COME. IF NOT, YOU SHOULD GO NOW, RETURN WHEN YOU ARE."

Ginny frowned. "I'm ready now."

The dragon climbed to its feet. "THEN MY TIME WITH YOU HAS ENDED."

"What? Wait!"

"FEAR NOT SORCERERSS. THE SHADOW CAN ONLY HARM YOU IF YOU LET IT.

"But what am I supposed to do?"

"WAIT… AND FOLLOW YOUR HEART." With a mighty leap and pounding of its wings the dragon took wing. "PERHAPS NEXT TIME WE MEET WE SHALL FLY TOGETHER."

Ginny could only watch as the beast flew away. "Goodbye!" she called.

She watched till the dragon was but a spec far in the distance before turning away in time to see a black panther glide out of the jungle to the water's edge. Ginny's breath caught and her heart skipped a beat. The cat was beautiful, powerful and lithe. She felt it the most amazing creature she'd ever laid eyes on… And she'd just spoken with a dragon! The panther drank for a few minutes before lifting its head. Their eyes locked. Mesmerized, Ginny stared at the beast for what could have been hours. Suddenly, without warning, the great cat bared its fangs and hissed venomously before bolting into the jungle. Ginny barely had a chance to feel bereft before she sensed a presence behind her. Fearing Tom had returned, she slowly turned around.

What she found instead was a red wolf sat on its haunches about twenty paces away. It was majestic and felt of a different power than the panther, but everything she felt on seeing the great cat coursed through her on seeing the wolf as well. Her eyes widened in wonder. Was it possible? The wolf whined softly and thumped its tail. "Two?" she breathed. The wolf glanced over its shoulder and more than a dozen grey and brown wolves slipped out of the savannah grasses to form a half circle behind the red wolf. The red wolf continued to watch over her shoulder and a few seconds later a very large black wolf moved out of grasses. It sat at the edge of the savannah and the red wolf turned back to her.

Ginny bolted up in her bed. "Thank Merlin!" Daphne gasped. "I thought you were never going to wake up. I was about to give you the End-Trance Draught."

"Wh–What?" Ginny asked.

"It's already 5:30. You've been gone all night. I had to tell Harry you weren't feeling well and I was going to stay with you instead of train this morning."

Ginny shook her head confusedly. "Training?"

"Yes, you know running and all that miserable stuff."

"Right, training," Ginny said. Her eyes narrowed. "Oh, I'm going to kill him." She threw her covers off, grabbing for clothes from her bureau."

Ten minutes later Daphne was struggling to keep up with Ginny as she raced up. "Ginny!" she hissed

Ginny ignored her. She was like a force of nature as she moved up the stairs to the entry and then to the greenhouses. Greenhouse five was mostly unused and they had cleaned up a section of it so they could get out of the cold when finished with their morning runs for the rest of their training.

Harry had just dropped from the rafter after a set of chin-ups and grabbed his water bottle when the door slammed open and Ginny stormed in with Daphne hurrying after. She stalked across the floor and planted herself a foot in front of him. "Are you an animagus?" she hissed.

Harry stared back at her for a second before glancing to Daphne. She was wringing her hands nervously. He turned to Ginny. "Yes." The water bottle Neville was holding slipped from his hand.

Ginny's nostrils flared. "What is your form?" she bit out.

Harry held her eyes. "I had to choose."

" _What_ did you choose?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes."

Harry glanced at Hermione. She could only shrug. He turned back to Ginny. She looked positively murderous, and he thought about telling her she would figure it out, or that he wasn't going to tell her because he didn't want to influence her decision. But in the end he decided he was tired of the constant fight their relationship seemed to be. He was just going to come clean with everything. She would either get over it and eventually decide to be with him or she wouldn't, but if he could do it, he was going to end the constant back and forth. "Wolf."

"Damn you," Ginny hissed. She turned on her heel and stalked away.

Daphne hesitated for a second. "I'm sorry," she croaked and hurried after Ginny.

Luna sighed. "I best go as well."

Harry could only watch Ginny go. Things had been improving between them. Enough that he'd been considering talking to her about the animagus transformation. Apparently she'd followed in his father and Sirius' footsteps and started the process on her own. "Damn it," he snarled and hurled the water bottle in his hand at the wall. The pane shattered letting in a rush of cold air.

* * *

Author's notes:

So I'm getting a number of people saying they're fed up with Ginny; and Hermione. And yes, on some levels you're supposed to be. In both cases though I will remind people they are teenagers. Ginny is 13. Hermione is 14. Teenagers, even those that are mature, are prone to poor decisions and over reaction. Hermione is reacting naturally to Ginny in trying to protect Harry. He is her brother and she's trying to protect that. Is she wrong? In my mind the answer is yes, and no. Ginny, people need to remember what happened to her. She was betrayed by her brothers and mother and Tom and for all intents and purposes, she was raped. Maybe not in the most strict definition of the word, but in my mind, what happened to her can be classified as rape. One simply does not recover from that in only a few short months. She is getting better, but she will have setbacks as well. Her experience is very similar to Harry's young childhood. Let's remember it took him three years to trust his mother enough to tell her he loved her. Frankly, after about 7 months, I think Ginny is making good progress. If you disagree, that is your prerogative. I'll only tell you my original ideas had the falling out among them to be far worse than this is and to go on for far longer than it ultimately does.


	16. Chapter 16

Standard disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR. Except where I might use some song lyrics which I will call out at the time and give proper credit. Thank you JKR for letting us play with your toys.

I will continue to use the occasional song lyric in the story and will give credit at the time when needed.

This is the fourth book in my Slytherin Harry series. And I'm departing from reusing JKR's title because too much of the story has changed. I'll leave it up to all of you to decide just who the Blood Traitor's Daughter is. In my mind there is more than one candidate.

Book 1: Harry Potter and the Muggle's Daughter

Book 2: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Book 3: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Book 4: Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor's Daughter.

If you haven't read books 1-3 you won't know what's going on. But the bonus is you've got three completed books before you even get to this one!

And last, the disappointing bits.

First, because the site gives me such difficulty uploading, I've adjusted my writing to make things easier and made chapters generally shorter than in the past I try to keep things at about 5000 words because it just works best.

Second, to ensure I keep the production of new material ahead of the pace of my posting I'm afraid I have to go to every other week. I'm sorry, but I'm doing the best I can.

* * *

 **HARRY POTTER AND THE BLOOD TRAITOR'S DAUGHTER**

 **CHAPTER XVI**

 **Intervention**

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

"Expecto Patronum!" Ginny cried. Silvery mist poured from her wand. It grew brighter and brighter and suddenly a shape emerged. For about two seconds her eyes widened in shock; she had done it! She had cast a fully corporeal patronus! And she'd done it before any of the others! But then the realization of the form her patronus took registered and the spell failed.

Daphne watched and waited. Just when it was beginning to look like Ginny had reconciled the signs pointing to her and Harry being fated for each other, and that they might be on their way to rekindling what Daphne truly felt would be a romance for the ages, lightening had struck in the form of Ginny's spirit walk. It had only been two days, but she hadn't spoken to Harry since. Daphne was certain that this, producing of a wolf patronus, wasn't going to help things at all. Ginny stared at the spot her patronus had been, her jaw slowly tightening. Without a word her wand slid into its holster and she was walking out the door. Daphne didn't know if it was good or bad that she simply left the door open instead of slamming it.

"I better go," Luna said.

"Me too," Daphne said, hurrying after the other blonde. She quietly closed the door leaving Harry, Hermione and Neville with Remus.

Harry leaned against the wall, sliding down into a squat. "I should have known I'd pay for getting rid of Snape," he muttered.

"She's being ridiculous!" Hermione snapped.

"Try being a child of prophecy for a while and see how you like it," Harry snapped back.

"She is not a child of prophecy!"

"Oh come on, Hermione, how many more signs do you need to believe Fate marked the two of us for each other?"

"Oh please!" Hermione mocked. "There is such a thing as coincidence you know."

Harry stared at her incredulously. "I suppose the vision I had of her when I was six is just a coincidence too?"

"You had a vision of her?" Neville asked.

"How do you even know it was her? For the love of Nimue, have you considered it could have been Astoria?"

Harry snorted. "Oh yes, because Astoria grew up in a dilapidated old house where she would climb out the window, across the roof, down the gutter and break into an old broom shed so she could go flying at night. Have you seen Astoria fly? She's worse than you ever were."

"See, you have considered it! You wouldn't have bothered noticing how Astoria flew if you hadn't."

"Of course I have, Hermione. Given how things have been how could I not at least question if I might be wrong. Ginny is the one, Hermione. When I look at her the whole world slots into place. I _actually_ feel like I might be capable of fighting Voldemort."

"What about Gwen?"

Harry frowned slightly. "Gwen?"

"Please," Hermione said disdainfully, "don't tell me you don't remember that girl from Disney World."

Harry stared at Hermione for a few seconds. "I haven't thought about her since the train to school, first-year."

Hermione threw her arms up in the air. "You're being stupid, Harry. You might not be able to see it, but don't expect me to just sit here and watch and not say it. She isn't good enough for you."

Harry pushed himself up from his spot against the wall and moved to stand nose to nose with Hermione. "If you ever say that to her, you and I _will_ have problems."

"Fine! It's not like you've cared enough to put me first since the day you met her. If you want to waste your life pining after some dense little twit who can't see the utter fool she is, who am I to stop you?" She spun around and left, slamming the door hard enough it might have broke if not for the Reinforcing Charms Remus had placed on it.

"Oh for fuck's sake!" Harry exploded.

"Alright there, Harry?" Remus asked after about a minute of him just standing and fuming.

"Do I look like I'm alright?" Harry snapped.

"Not particularly."

Harry rounded on him. "I suppose you agree with her."

"Not especially."

"Well then why the hell didn't you tell her to shut up?"

Remus raised a brow at him. "Why didn't you?"

"I'm pretty sure I did."

"And how'd that work out for you?"

"Don't even try and blame me for this. I didn't pick that fight. Put her first, who the hell does she think she is? With or without Ginny I told her I'd transfer schools if she didn't want to come back here!"

Remus sighed. "Harry, I'm sorry if you think I should have stepped in. I didn't feel things had reached a point where I needed to. You and Hermione have had tiffs before and you always work them out. You'll work this one out as well."

Harry slumped down in a chair. "Yeah, I know… I'm sorry, Remus." He focused on the older man. "I'm sorry for yelling at you about the boggart as well. You couldn't have known."

Remus gave him a small smile. "Thank you, Harry. Though I'm not certain I didn't deserve that scolding. I confess it was a difficult lesson to have learned."

Harry sighed. "Yeah." He turned to Neville who had remained silent through everything and looked mortified to have witnessed most all of it. "Sorry, about all that, Mate."

Neville shrugged. "It's al–alright. I didn't really hear much of anything anyway."

Harry snorted. "You're alright, Neville."

Neville grinned. "No problem, Harry."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Harry noticed Elenydd and Shishong walking past the compartment he was sharing with Neville and Hermione and decided now was as good a time as any to try and catch Ginny where she couldn't run away from him. "I'll be back," he said, and heaved himself to his feet.

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked.

"You don't want to know," Harry answered without turning back. He was out the door and closing it, and never saw what her reaction was. As always, they had made up after their fight, but things were still tenser than they'd ever been between them after a tiff. Harry had faith it would work out with a bit more time. Hermione was his sister; that was all there was to it. Ginny on the other hand, he wasn't so sure. He would never view her as a sister and wasn't certain he could handle her only being a friend. He made his way down the train, searching the compartments and was rewarded when he found Ginny alone with Daphne and Luna. He slid the door open and stepped in.

"Hey," he said.

Ginny pointedly turned away. "Hello, Harry," Daphne and Luna said.

Harry closed the door, locked it and pulled the shade. Ginny turned back to him. "I don't want to speak with you."

"Yeah, well, we don't always get what we want, do we?" Harry retorted.

Luna and Daphne exchanged looks. "Perhaps we'll just step out?" Daphne said.

"Stay," Harry said. They settled back nervously.

"You're certain?" Luna asked.

"I said I didn't want to speak with you," Ginny snapped.

"Yeah, well, no one said anything about you speaking, so get over yourself." Daphne and Luna exchanged a wide-eyed looks while Ginny's eyes narrowed. Harry ignored it and pulled a phial from his pocket. "I don't think I have to tell you how removing a memory from your mind works. But just in case, it takes the edge off; the emotion attached to it dulls, gets vague. You can remember something is important, but it doesn't seem quite as significant." He tossed the phial on the seat next to Ginny. "It's only fair you know everything, so there you go. Once you look at that, there's nothing left. Just, even though I don't feel it right now, I know that is maybe the most precious thing in the world to me so I'd appreciate if you didn't throw it out the window." Ginny eyed the phial. "I'll see you around," Harry said and left.

The three girls sat in silence for a few moments after Harry's departure. Ginny eventually turned her attention to her two friends. "What?" she demanded of Luna.

"I'm trying to decide if I can trust you with that or if I should hold onto it till you're ready to look at it?" Ginny scowled at her. "Don't even, Ginevra," Luna reprimanded. "I know you better than anyone."

"Whatever," Ginny muttered and went back to staring out the window.

"Very well then," Luna said. She plucked the phial up and tucked it in her bag. "Do you think the trolley lady will have pasties?"

Harry returned to his compartment to find Neville had stepped out. He flopped down next to Hermione. "Where's Nev?"

"Loo," Hermione answered. Harry wedged himself into the corner, crossed his arms over his chest, tipped his head back and closed his eyes. He wasn't really tired; he just didn't feel like talking to anyone. "Harry?" Hermione ventured.

"What?" he asked without opening his eyes.

"Can we talk?"

Harry opened his eyes. "I'd do almost anything for you, Hermione. One thing I won't, is give up on the girl I love."

"Harry, you're _thirteen._ It's been almost two years since you did anything but fight with her."

"It's been eighteen months." She just looked at him. "I don't care how long it takes, Hermione; eighteen months, eighteen years, or eighty, there won't ever be anyone else."

"Harry, that's _ridiculous_."

"It's my _choice_ , Hermione. I made it when I chose the wolf over the panther."

"And what if she never comes around? What if she chooses the panther?"

Harry held her eyes. "Then she does."

Hermione pressed her lips together tightly. "And I'm just supposed sit back and make nice when she keeps hurting you?"

"If you respect my right to make my choice, yes."

"Harry—"

"I've heard you, Hermione. I'd appreciate the same courtesy from you."

"Have you heard me?" she asked.

"Have you?"

Hermione sighed. "Fine, I'll stop."

Harry closed his eyes. "Appreciate it."

With their arrival at the station, Ginny's mood went from foul to filthy. She had not been looking forward to the hols. Bill and Charlie had been after her all term to talk with their mother; if you could believe it, the woman had actually had the nerve to send her a number of letters. And there she was, looking all nervous and expectant, standing next to Bill. Well, Ginny was going to make her feelings perfectly clear. She was not going to forgive and forget. She didn't care if Bill forbid her seeing Daphne or Luna the whole of the break, she was not going to spend even one minute with her mother.

"Shall we?" Daphne asked. Shishong and Elenydd had already departed, but Ginny had refused to move till the platform had cleared. Harry, Hermione and Neville had already left, but she hadn't expected they would stay and even though she didn't particularly want to, the only way she'd get out of seeing them over the hols would be to forgo all the extra training planned for the break and she wasn't about to do that.

"You go," Ginny said.

"You're sure?" Daphne asked.

"Yes."

"Come along, Daphne," Luna said. "Best we let Ginevra deal with this privately."

"Only if you're sure," Daphne said reluctantly.

"I am. Now go before your family comes looking for you."

"Alright," Daphne agreed. She gave Ginny a tight hug. "You know you're welcome at my home."

"Thank you," Ginny said, returning the hug. She let her go and hugged Luna in turn.

"I shall see you tonight," Luna said. Ginny smiled tightly. Her two friends quickly left and she watched them through the window. They were some of the last to depart the train so they were easy to keep track of. Daphne was greeted warmly by her family and Luna ran enthusiastically into her father's arms. She and her father stopped to talk with Bill for a second and she knew Luna had told him she was still on the train. A few minutes later no one but her family remained on the platform. Still she waited. Bill crossed his arms and glared at the train. Percy said something and the twins smacked him in the back of the head. Never taking his eyes from the train, Bill turned slightly and said something to Charlie. Charlie nodded and barked orders at her other brothers. They quickly gathered their things and left through the barrier to the Muggle side of the station. Still Ginny refused to move. Bill held a hand up, fingers spread. Deliberately he folded his thumb in. The message was clear; get off the train or he'd _come_ get her off the train.

The countdown was at one when she stepped onto the platform. She stiffly walked over and stood in front of him. "We better be going to the flat," she said.

"We're going to the Burrow for dinner with the rest of the family."

"I won't, Bill. If you try and force me, I'll leave."

"Ginny," her mother tried.

Ginny ignored her. "I mean it, Bill. I never want to see her again and if you try and force me I'll run away."

"Ginny, please, won't you even look at me?"

Ginny continued to ignore her. Bill clenched his jaw tightly. "Not even for me?" he asked.

Ginny raised her chin. "Don't blackmail me; not after what she did."

Bill sighed. "Alright. Come home with us and you can leave from there."

"Fine."

"Leave?" her mother asked. "Leave where?"

Ginny finally turned to her. "Don't worry. I'll be somewhere safe, _you_ won't be there."

"Ginny, please—"

Ginny dropped the letters her mother had sent at her feet and spit on them. The Wet Start Powder she stuck to them ignited in a burst of flame. Ginny held a hateful glare on her mother for a moment. "At least I didn't make a scene, mother," she hissed. "The goddess knows how very much I've embarrassed you; wouldn't want anyone else to know how horrid a mother you are." She spun around and walked away.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Ginny picked up her mirror and activated it. "Hi, Luna," she said with a sigh.

"Are you coming here or shall I come there?"

"Luna, I'm fine. I can be by myself for a night."

"It's two days before Christmas, Ginevra. I'm not leaving you alone."

"I don't want to take you away from your father, Luna. You already gave up most of the adventure he planed for you last summer because of me."

Luna stared at her through the mirror and Ginny couldn't help fidgeting. Sometimes there was just something about Luna. "Then you shall be coming here," she said decisively. "I'll expect you shortly and if you do not come I shall be forced to fetch you."

"Luna—"

"Ten minutes, Ginevra. And bring the pensive." She shut the connection off before Ginny could say another word. Ginny very nearly chucked the mirror at the wall.

 _Fifteen_ minutes later Ginny stumbled into the parlour of Luna's home. _Bloody hell,_ she grumbled, _never mind being a cat animagus, you'd think after an entire summer using the damn thing I could manage a graceful landing._

Righting herself she glanced around. She couldn't help smiling as she took in the house. She had always enjoyed coming here; and really, seeing the house was actually the remains of an ancient stone keep, who wouldn't? The castle had been abandoned before it was completed with most of the stone from the incomplete surrounding wall having been scavenged away before the Lovegood family had claimed the keep many generations ago. The keep itself was round, made of black stone and about twenty feet in diameter. The ground floor housed the kitchen and main living area. A spiral metal staircase smack in the middle of the house led up to the first floor and Mr Lovegood's workshop. The second floor was his bedroom and the top floor was Luna's. You could even go up on what would have been the parapet and from there you could see for many miles around.

Luna glanced up from her spot on the couch where she was reading a copy of her father's newspaper, The Quibbler. "You're late."

"Don't tell me what to do."

"Did you bring the pensive or do I need to go fetch it?" Ginny glowered at her. "Very good then," Luna said. She folded the paper and moved to the staircase. There were times Ginny was certain Luna could command obedience of a dragon. This was one of those and she was powerless to do anything but dutifully follow along.

"Hello, Daddy," Luna said as they climbed to the workshop. "Ginevra's here, we're going up to my room."

"Very good, Bopkin," he called from behind a large, clanking, printing press. "Lovely to see you, Ginevra," he added.

"It's nice to see you as well, Mr Lovegood."

"Will you be staying for breakfast?"

"Yes she will, Daddy."

"Wonderful. I've heard the Americans often have waffles and sausages for breakfast. I think we should follow their example, don't you?"

"Ohh," Luna gushed excitedly, "how delicious." Ginny shook her head with fond exasperation. Luna really was impossible not to love.

"I thought so. You two enjoy yourselves."

"We will, Daddy." Luna resumed her climb with Ginny following. Entering Luna's room Ginny couldn't help glancing at the ceiling. There were now six faces painted on it. She and Luna were the oldest, having been done many years ago. Harry and Hermione had been added Christmas of first-year and last summer Luna had added Neville and Daphne. The paintings didn't move, and weren't the greatest of likenesses, but they were recognizable and there was a certain _life_ to them. What appeared to be fine golden chains wove around, linking the faces together, but Ginny knew if you got close enough the chains were actually a single word repeated thousands of times in golden ink: Friends… Friends… Friends.

A rush of affection for her friend flushed through Ginny. She would always be able to count on Luna. Luna sat down in the middle of the floor. Ginny sat down with her back to Luna. Luna picked up her brush and began brushing out Ginny's hair. "Do you think it possible someone might gift me one of those beanbags like Harry and Hermione have for Christmas?"

"Maybe," Ginny answered. "Anything is possible. Isn't that what you always tell me?"

Luna paused in her brushing for a moment. "I do, don't I?" She resumed brushing and when finished, she braided Ginny's hair. "There."

Both girls turned around and Ginny picked up the brush. She carefully brushed out Luna's golden locks and then braided them for her friend. "Finished," she said.

Luna turned around to face her. Ginny began to fidget. "Do I have to?" she eventually whinged.

"It's not very kind of you to keep the memory longer than necessary. You'll be seeing him again on Boxing Day. I should think it appropriate to return it to him then, don't you?" Ginny sighed and reached for her bag. She pulled the box that held the pensive from it and set it on the floor between them. She then opened the box and used her wand to levitate the stone basin out.

Luna bent to examine it. "Did Mrs Tonks say where she got it?"

Ginny shook her head. "No."

Luna straightened. "Most likely a family heirloom, I'm sure." She produced the phial from her pocket, uncorked it and poured the contents into the basin. She then took Ginny's hand and waited.

"Come with me?" Ginny croaked.

"Always." Luna pulled Ginny's hand into the pensive. "Ready?" Ginny gave a shaky nod.

A short while later the two girls spilled out of the pensive onto the floor. Ginny sat, staring blankly while Luna quietly replaced the memory from the basin into the phial and packed the pensive away again. Once finished she picked up a piece parchment from her desk and sat with legs crossed in front of Ginny. Ginny eventually took note of the parchment in Luna's hands. She gave her friend a questioning look.

Luna offered the parchment to her. "Go on," she said.

Tentatively, Ginny took it from her. Her frown deepened as she read through it. She focused on Luna. "What is this?"

"The day Kai left, she gave that to me." Ginny glanced at the parchment. Luna took a breath and recited from memory; adding names to the puzzle Kai had given her as she went.

"At eight, One (Harry) who is Half found another (Hermione) and became Two.

At eleven, Two (Harry and Hermione, and Luna and Ginny) become Four and two (Harry and Ginny) who were Half become Whole.

Before Four (Harry, Hermione, Ginny and Luna) are twelve, Four must become Three and Three must become Two.

And Two must go on.

But if Two are not Whole (Harry and Ginny) the Second (Hermione) will not survive the night.

If the Second (Hermione) dies, than before thirteen One (Ginny) who is Whole will follow.

And the Cursed One (Voldemort) shall rise.

At fourteen, Two (Harry and Luna) who are broken remain. One (Luna) will follow the previous two

Only the First (Harry) shall endure.

Fifteen shall see the First (Harry) perish

And All (The World) shall burn."

Ginny stared at her. "I don't understand."

"Kai gave me this so that when we went after the stone I could make certain it was you and not Hermione who went with Harry to the final confrontation. If I failed, Hermione would die. Harry would have been so devastated by the loss he would not have figured out the mystery of the Chamber and you would have died last spring. Voldemort would have risen. Sometime before I turned fifteen I would have been killed. Harry would die when he was fifteen. There would be no one left to stop Voldemort ruling the world." She paused to let Ginny think for a second.

"I really have no choice, do I?" Ginny whispered.

Luna waited a second before answering. "You do; the wolf, or the panther… Is Fate really so bad when without it you would be dead?"

* * *

Author's notes:

For those fed up with Ginny, this is about as bad as it gets. Things won't be good for a while yet, but this is as bad as both she and Harry would allow me to make it. And, like I said, I fought tooth and nail to get it to this point. If they'd had their way things would have been fixed a while ago. But I didn't think doing so would be realistic and the big thing was for Ginny to grow. She needs to be strong enough to be with Harry and she needed to take this time to reestablish herself as her own being before entering into a relationship with someone with as powerful a personality and presence as Harry.

Also, for those I missed responding to reviews recently, I've been traveling a ton and out of internet access so I apologize and will try to do better going forward.


	17. Chapter 17

Standard disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR. Except where I might use some song lyrics which I will call out at the time and give proper credit. Thank you JKR for letting us play with your toys.

I will continue to use the occasional song lyric in the story and will give credit at the time when needed.

This is the fourth book in my Slytherin Harry series. And I'm departing from reusing JKR's title because too much of the story has changed. I'll leave it up to all of you to decide just who the Blood Traitor's Daughter is. In my mind there is more than one candidate.

Book 1: Harry Potter and the Muggle's Daughter

Book 2: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Book 3: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Book 4: Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor's Daughter.

If you haven't read books 1-3 you won't know what's going on. But the bonus is you've got three completed books before you even get to this one!

And last, the disappointing bits.

First, because the site gives me such difficulty uploading, I've adjusted my writing to make things easier and made chapters generally shorter than in the past I try to keep things at about 5000 words because it just works best.

Second, to ensure I keep the production of new material ahead of the pace of my posting I'm afraid I have to go to every other week. I'm sorry, but I'm doing the best I can.

* * *

 **HARRY POTTER AND THE BLOOD TRAITOR'S DAUGHTER**

 **CHAPTER XVII**

 **A Lot For One Breath**

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

"Happy Christmas," Lily greeted Bill with a hug and Ginny with a hug and kiss to the cheek.

"Happy Christmas, Lily," Bill returned.

"Thank you, Mrs Potter," Ginny answered. "Happy Christmas to you as well."

"The youth brigade is upstairs if you want to go up. Food and drinks are in the kitchen."

"Alright," Ginny agreed, moving to the kitchen first.

Lily turned to Bill. "Sirius is tending bar in the parlour."

Bill grinned. "Don't mind if I do," he said and ambled off.

"Bill!" Sirius cried on spotting the younger man. "Come join us." He grabbed another glass and gave it a generous pour. Remus, Ted and David were all standing around talking.

Bill took it chuckling. Clearly Sirius had already had a glass or three. "Thanks, Mate."

"Ginny!" Hermione's mum swooped down on her the moment she entered the kitchen with a crushing hug. "It is so good to see you again. Did you have a good term?"

"It's nice to see you, Mrs Granger. Term was good. I really like Runes even though I know most of it already, and Defense is brilliant with Professor Lupin."

"I'm glad to hear it," Mrs Granger said.

Ginny was pulled away from Hermione's mum into another hug. "Now share, Mali," Mrs Tonks scolded. "Hello, Luv."

"Hello, Ma'am." From Mrs Tonks Ginny was passed to Tonks and then to Charlie.

"Ginny!" he cried. "I haven't seen you since–" he checked his watch "–about three hours ago." Ginny stuck her tongue out at him.

"Can I get you something to drink, or fix you a plate, Ginny," Mrs Potter asked.

* * *

"It's a CD burner," Harry explained.

"A CD burner?" Daphne asked. "But why would you want to burn your CDs? Won't that ruin them?" Neville nodded his head in agreement.

Harry laughed. "No, it won't ruin them. Well it will if I put a CD that's already got songs on it in. Look, you know how a phonograph works, right?"

"Yes. Father has one in the ballroom."

Harry cocked his head. "You have a ballroom?" Daphne gave him a look that clearly said he was being daft. "Right, of course you do. Look, the CD is like a more advanced version of the records a phonograph plays. There are millions and millions of microscopic holes burnt in it. The holes are like the ridges on a record; each hole is a tiny bit of information. Instead of using a needle, the CD player uses something called a laser to read the information on the CD and converts it into the sound that comes out of the speakers." He picked up the tower of blank CDs he'd received with the burner. "These are all blank. They don't have any holes burnt in them yet. So there's no music on them. There's a microphone in the CD burner that will convert the sound from when I'm playing into information that can be burnt onto the blank CDs. I can use it to record the songs I write!"

"So it's kind of like you can make your own record for a phonograph?"

"Exactly!" Harry said.

"And it all works with that electricity?"

Harry nodded. "Yep."

"Weird," Neville said.

"Very," Daphne agreed.

* * *

"Have you always had your own room at Harry's?" Luna asked.

Hermione tipped her head slightly. "Kind of, I suppose. Why do you ask?"

Luna shrugged. "It's just very nice. Lily is very kind."

"Harry has a room at my house," Hermione said a bit defensively.

"Oh, I don't mean to imply your mum isn't just as kind. She has been nothing but lovely to me. I'm very grateful to both your mum and Harry's… and Mrs Tonks. Sometimes it almost makes the pain of not having mummy go away."

Hermione stared, blinking at Luna a number of times, before grabbing her in a tight hug. "Oh, Luna, I'm so sorry. Sometimes, between Harry's issues and then Ginny's, I forget you've lost a parent as well."

Luna burrowed into Hermione's embrace. "Thank you, Hermione," she sniffed. She stayed there for quite a long while before she said, "I really like your hugs, Hermione."

"You do?"

Luna backed away from her, taking the other girl's hands in hers. "I do." She smiled. Hermione stared back at her for a few moments before both girls blushed and looked away.

Hermione glanced shyly back at Luna. "I really like your hugs too, Luna."

Luna chewed at her lip. "So we could maybe hug more?" she asked.

Hermione gave a shaky nod. "I–I'd like th–that," she said, not realizing she had leaned a bit closer to the other girl.

"And maybe hold hands?" Luna asked, leaning in a bit as well. "That is, I mean, hold hands more often?"

Hermione nodded. "O–Ok," she leaned in closer yet.

"Hey, Ginny," Neville's voice carried down the hall. The two girls sprang apart. Blushing furiously, they glanced nervously at the door and back to each other.

"Hello, Neville," Ginny said.

"We better…" Luna said.

"R–Right," Hermione agreed a bit shakily.

"Hello, Ginny," Daphne greeted her with a hug.

"Hello, Daphne," Ginny answered, returning the hug. She let go and turned to Harry. "Hi," she said quietly.

"Hey, glad you came."

She gave him a timid smile. "Here." She held out her hand with the phial and memory he had given her. "You should have this back; I imagine things feel a bit off without it." Harry eyed it. Off wasn't exactly the word he would use, more like gaping. But he didn't want to take it if she hadn't viewed it yet. "I looked at it," Ginny said.

Harry slowly took it from her, wordlessly unstopping the phial he triggered the release for his wand and returned the memory to his mind. He closed his eyes and let out a slow sigh. A tear leaked from the corner of his eye and slid down his cheek. "Thanks," he said.

"Ah, I thought I heard you," Luna said, coming in the room.

"Hello, Luna, Hermione," Ginny greeted them. "Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas to you as well, Ginny," Hermione said.

"Does this mean it's time for presents?" Luna asked eagerly.

Half an hour later Harry's room was a disaster of crumpled wrapping paper and discarded ribbon. "You probably don't want to let your parents listen to that one, Daph" Harry said. Sticking with tradition he had two gifts for each of his friends. Neville, Daphne, Luna and Ginny were all examining the portable CD players and CDs he'd picked to go with – Hermione already had a player and he'd given her five new CDs yesterday. Harry was pretty certain he'd contributed a fair bit to Karlie's Curios having a good season.

"Why not?" Daphne asked.

Harry smirked. "Let's just say Guns N Roses is likely a bit… loud for them."

She glanced at the CD. "Is it like that Def Leopard group?"

"Louder."

Daphne grinned. "Bril."

Hermione gasped. "Did you just use slang?"

Daphne stuck her nose up in the air. "Well, what do expect when I spend so much time with someone so uncouth as him? It would be impossible to not have some of the filth splatter on me." The others laughed.

"If one was as posh as they think they are, they should be pulling me up, Daph, not getting pulled down," Harry retorted. She chucked a wadded up bit of wrapping paper at him.

* * *

Harry came out of the toilet only to be yanked into Hermione's room. "Bloody hell, Hermione."

She clamped a hand over his mouth. "Shush," she hissed furiously. When she was sure he would be quiet she removed her hand.

"Everything all right?" he asked.

"I almost kissed Luna."

"Really!" Harry asked, his eyes widening.

She clamped her hand over his mouth again. "Shush!"

"Right, sorry," Harry said, grinning madly. "So, you almost kissed her…?"

Hermione bobbed her head madly. "Or she almost kissed me, I'm not sure, but we were talking and I gave her a hug and she told me how much she liked my hugs and I said I liked her hugs and she asked if we could maybe hug more often and I said yes and she asked if we could maybe hold hands more often and I said yes and we were leaning closer and closer and I'm sure we were going to kiss but then we heard Neville talking and kind of sprang apart and I don't know what to do." She finished in a bit of a soft wail. Which, Harry thought, made no sense at all, but is what it was. "What?" she demanded, when he just stared at her.

"Nothing, I was just making sure you weren't going to pass out on me, that was a lot for one breath." She punched him in the shoulder. "Ow! Ok, kidding," Harry said shielding himself from her. "That's brilliant, Hermione. I mean I think it is. You like her right?"

"Of course I do. I mean she's smart and funny and loyal and—"

"Good looking," Harry cut in front of her, "and has pretty blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes." Hermione glared at him and cocked her fist. Harry edged away. "Right, sorry, so you fancy her then?"

Hermione stared back at him. "Yes," she squeaked.

Harry grinned. "That's brilliant."

"It is?"

Harry nodded. "Well yeah, why would I think it wasn't?"

"I just thought that maybe you'd be upset with me."

Harry furrowed his brow. "Why would I be upset?"

"Because, well, because—"

"Ginny?"

"Yes."

"Don't remind me of that right now." He grinned at her.

"You're really not upset with me?"

"No."

"Oh good."

"Of course now you have to do something about it."

Hermione got a deer in the headlights look. "Do something?" she croaked.

"Well yeah," Harry said. "I mean you do want to _actually_ kiss her, don't you?"

Hermione cocked her head slightly and a dreamy look flitted across her face. "But do you think she likes me?" she asked, snapping out of it.

Harry chuckled and looped an arm around her shoulders. "Only one way to find out, isn't there? You have to ask her."

"Ask her?" Hermione squeaked.

"Yep. Come on." He tugged her towards the door.

She pulled away from him. "Now! I can't ask her now?"

Harry laughed. "Relax, Hermione, you don't have to ask her now."

Hermione sagged. "Oh thank goodness." They stood in silence for a few seconds. Should we go back?"

"Back?"

"Yes, back to my room?"

"Oh, um, right. Yes." Hermione pointedly smoothed her blouse. "Do I look ok?"

Harry pulled her close and hugged her. "You look amazing, Hermione."

She beamed at him. "Thank you, Harry. You're the best friend a person could ever ask for."

"Yeah, I know," he said cheekily. He let her go and opened the door. "Come on."

"There you are," Luna said when they came in his room. "We've decided you should play for us."

"Harry!" Mum called from downstairs.

"Yeah?"

"We've decided you should play for us."

Neville chuckled. "Looks like you're out voted, Mate."

"Coming," Harry called.

"Lovely," Luna sighed. Harry noted she took Hermione's hand as they trundled down the stairs.

Harry played various Christmas carols for about an hour, singing a few, but mostly letting the others sing along. He'd just finished Silent Night when Mum asked, "How about something you've written?"

Harry shook his head. "Not tonight."

"BOO!" Everyone cried.

"Come on, Harry," Hermione urged.

"Please, Harry," Mali and Mrs Tonks tried.

Harry locked eyes with his mum. "Not tonight."

"Alright," she agreed, "what would you like to play?"

Harry shrugged. "You pick."

Mum considered. "I've got an idea. I'll pick a person in the room. You tell me what song you think best fits them and we'll vote to see if you sing it? How's that sound?"

"Maybe," Harry said. "Pick someone and let's see how it goes."

Mum glanced about the room, pondering her options. She grinned brightly and said, "Sirius."

Harry smirked. "Easy. Carly Simon, You're So Vain."

"WINNER!" Remus, Mrs Tonks, Ted, Mali, Mr Granger, and Hermione exploded. Mum and Tonks had simply slid to the floor, chortling. "SING. SING. SING," the lot of them chanted.

Sirius crossed his arms and pouted. "Not nice, Harry."

"Oh," Bill chuckled, "now I think we have to hear this."

"Fine," Sirius grumbled.

By the time Harry had finished the song everyone was in stiches and in full agreement it was perfect for Sirius. "Oh, Harry," Mum gasped. She wiped a tear from her cheek. "I just adore you."

"Cheeky little bugger," Sirius muttered.

"Alright," Mrs Tonks said, "My turn. I want to know what you would play for Hermione."

Harry considered. "Fleetwood Mac, Rhiannon."

Mrs Tonks tipped her head. "Interesting… Go on then."

"I thought we had to vote. I'm not playing a song for everyone. There's like twenty of you?"

"Fifteen," Mum countered.

"Still too many. I'll be here for hours."

"Five," Mrs Tonks said. "And I want to hear Hermione's song." She sent a look at everyone else that said they had better think twice before contradicting her.

"Fine," Mali said. "I get to pick the next one."

"I'm next!" Hermione said. There was a short pause to see if someone would claim the last spot.

"May I pick one?" Luna asked.

"Sure," Harry said.

"Wonderful. Please go on with Mrs Tonks' choice now."

Harry took a breath and started singing again. When he'd finished he winked at Hermione. She blushed. "Why that song, Harry," Mum asked.

"Hermione knows," Harry answered. "I'm not saying anything more." He avoided looking at Mr Granger who was eying he and Hermione shrewdly.

"Alright then," Mail said, "my turn." She glanced at the others, trying to decide. "Andromeda," she said, smiling at the other woman.

Harry turned to Mrs Tonks. She met his scrutiny without flinching. "Alright, just, I interpret this a bit differently than was maybe intended, but." He took a breath and started playing. "Holding out for a Hero, Bonnie Tyler," he said when the song ended.

Mrs Tonks swallowed thickly. "Thank you, Harry."

Harry smiled. "It's true you know."

She swiped the tears from her cheeks. "Funny, I would say the same of you."

Harry blushed and focused on Hermione. "Guess it's your turn." She looked about, considering. _"Don't even,"_ he warned harshly. She blinked. Harry gave a little shake of his head when she focused on him.

"Daphne," Hermione said brightly.

"ME!" she cried.

Harry just grinned. "Sharp Dressed Man, ZZ Top."

"I am no man!" she protested. "I don't care how sharp dressed he is."

Harry laughed and went into the song. When he was done she had her lips pressed together but was fighting a smile. "Come on, Posh," he teased.

"You are utterly uncouth, Harry Potter."

"Card carrying cad and proud of it," he retorted. The others chuckled.

"Is it my turn now?" Luna asked.

Harry focused on her. "Sure."

"Your mum."

Harry nodded. "Silent Lucidity, Queensryche." Mum kissed his cheek.

* * *

"Oh-Ho!" Sirius cried, "we've got our first winner." The others turned their attention to him. It had taken a bit for the party to regain its momentum after Harry's last song, but the kids had disappeared upstairs again and alcohol had a way of loosening things up.

"Winner?" Remus asked.

"Mistletoe!" Malala squealed, pointing at Lily.

"What?" Lily cried. She looked up. Floating over her head was a sprig of mistletoe. "Ohhh," she groaned. The others laughed at her misfortune.

"Don't worry, Lils," Sirius teased, "I've got you covered." He puckered his lips and moved towards her.

Lily cuffed him on the side of the head. "Back off, mongrel."

"OW!" Sirius complained. The others roared. "Ha-Ha," Sirius mocked. "Laugh all you want, you're still stuck there till you get or give a kiss."

"OHHH, big threat there, Siri," Andromeda teased.

"Living dangerously tonight, aren't you?" Ted asked.

"Stuck here?" Lily demanded.

"Sticking Charm," Sirius said, puckering up again.

Lily gave him a mocking glare. "Sad, just how addled you are," she said and walked away.

"Aww hell," Sirius grumbled, "damn immunity." He brightened. "It's still bad luck if you don't kiss someone."

"Very true, Lily," Andromeda agreed.

Malala stepped in front of David. "Well, you can't kiss mine," she said playfully.

"Or mine," Tonks said, stepping in front of Charlie possessively.

"Sorry, this one is occupied," Andromeda said and proceeded to thoroughly snog Ted. The others cheered.

"Three to choose from, Lils," Sirius chortled. He made kissy faces at her.

"Two," she countered.

Remus held his hands up. "One. I don't care how innocent it is, I'm not chancing your son's wrath."

"And we've got a winner!" Sirius cried.

"Ohh, mistletoe!" Malala cried, pointing at Bill.

Bill looked up. "Well, shite," he muttered. He tried moving his feet but found them firmly stuck to the floor.

"Kiss. Kiss. Kiss," everyone chanted.

Bill glared at Sirius. "You honestly think I can't get out of this?"

"No, but it's still bad luck if you don't kiss."

"And true or not, I'm not chancing it," Lily said. She stepped to Bill.

"What?" Bill asked, turning just in time to turn a kiss on the cheek into a peck on the lips. They froze for a second before Lily snorted, blowing a raspberry all over his face. "Ugh," Bill groaned, wiping his face. The others burst into laughter.

Harry was walking past the parlour with a large plate of biscuits from the kitchen on his way back to his room just as his mum kissed Bill. He froze; trying to process her recoiling from Bill and everyone laughing as he wiped spittle from his face. "Brilliant," Sirius cackled.

Bill spotted Harry first. "Harry," he said. The others instantly fell silent.

"Harry," mum gasped. He tore his eyes away from Bill. "It wasn't what you think," she said.

"It was an accident, Mate," Bill said. "We both got caught under the mistletoe. Your mum was going to kiss me on the cheek and I turned at the wrong time."

Harry glanced between them, noting the mistletoe. "Whatever," he said. He pushed through the room for the stairs. "I better get back to my friends."

"Harry," mum said, catching his arm.

"I'm fine, Mum. Really. Dad's dead, has been for twelve years. If you want to be with someone new, you can." He stretched up and kissed her cheek. "Really." He pulled away from her, hurrying up the stairs. "Love you, Mum."

Lily watched Harry bound up the stairs, eventually deciding she would take him at his word and let him be. She turned around, her eyes zeroing in on Sirius. "Now, Lils," he placated.

"Why the hell am I still stuck to the floor?" Bill demanded.

"What?" Sirius asked.

"You're still stuck to the floor," Lily growled, marching up to poke Sirius in the chest, "because this idiot forgot I'm immune to magic. I can't break the spell, Bill. Someone else will have to kiss you."

"Like hell," Bill muttered. He drew his wand and started casting diagnostic spells. "Ah, there we go," he said. A sharp jab of his wand and he was free to move about. A couple more flicks of his wand and the mistletoe was floating over Sirius' head. Bill smirked at him evilly. "That'll teach you to mess with a curse-breaker." He considered Sirius for a second before flicking his wand at him again.

"OI!" Sirius cried, clutching at his privates with one hand and bum the other, "What was that!"

"Bladder and Bowel Emptying Charms; wouldn't want you to make a mess on Lily's floor."

* * *

The following morning, Hermione stumbled her way down the stairs. "Hermione," Sirius called from where he was laying flat on his back on the parlour floor.

"Sirius? What are you doing on the floor?"

Sirius pointed to the mistletoe still floating up by the ceiling. Hermione edged away. "Ran afoul of a curse-breaker," he said. "You wouldn't mind being a luv and helping me out, would you?"

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

From the moment she had woken, Lily Potter had operated under the premise they would eventually have to deal with a resurrected Voldemort. The second premise she had always subscribed to was that they would eventually need Dumbledore; if for no other reason than the fact Voldemort was afraid of him. Before she had put a stop to him with the Heart's Shield, the two had engaged in battle once. Voldemort had not come off well for the confrontation and afterwards the mere appearance of Dumbledore would send the Bastard running for the hills. As much as she hated it, if Voldemort coming back was a given, then Dumbledore was a necessary evil she had to leave in place.

Leaving Severus in place had been another necessary evil. For one, angering Dumbledore was not to be done lightly. For two, when Harry and Hermione had started asking for something to be done about Severus, the concern had been that taking him down would topple Dumbledore as well. It seemed plainly evident Dumbledore was the marionettist to Severus' puppet. If they went after Severus, he wouldn't quietly go away to Azkaban without announcing to the world he had only done what he had at Dumbledore's direction. Yes, the man had committed horrible crimes against her son, but if they believed they couldn't prevent Voldemort rising again, then putting the only wizard he feared in prison seemed a bad choice to make.

Dancing with the devil was a bitter pill to swallow… But then so was training your son to kill his father's murderer.

"There is really nothing?" she asked.

Amelia shook her head. "He's been in custody far longer than any known antidote to Veritaserum could possibly last. I've had him questioned twice while under the affects of it. I've given him Liquid Legilimency and let Andromeda go at him. I gave her Liquid Luck while doing so. She found nothing to implicate Dumbledore in anything."

Lily drummed her fingers on the arm of her chair. "What's your conclusion?"

"I think the old bastard has covered his tracks."

"So we can put Severus on trial and we're not going to topple Dumbledore?"

"Well, I wouldn't say never," Amelia hedged. "Snape is a Potion Master and a Master Occlumens, I won't discount the possibility he is deceiving us. That said, yes, I believe we can hold the trial and not topple Dumbledore. Right now I couldn't even if I wanted to."

Lily pursed her lips. "Why can't I decide if that's a good thing or not?"

Amelia sighed. "I agree. Unfortunately, I can't keep Snape locked up indefinitely without a trial. Lucius Malfoy is funding his defense and his lawyer is becoming difficult."

Lily glanced at the others. They had mostly been silent, letting the two of them hash things out. "Remus?"

"I don't see there's a choice, Lils. And you know I've always questioned whether we would need Dumbledore or not. We're making good progress tracking Voldemort's movements. Sirius and I were able to confirm Horace Slughorn provided much of Voldemort's initial information about Horcruxes and that he was excited about the idea of seven Soul Fragments being the ideal number to achieve true immortality. I believe I've a very good handle on the concept of knowing my enemy.

"I think it's safe to say, despite being the son of a Muggle father, he sees, or saw himself, not just as Slytherin's heir, but as Slytherin reincarnated. We know he spent significant time searching for Hufflepuff's teacup, Ravenclaw's diadem and Gryffindor's sword and dagger. He would view encasing a bit of his soul in any of these objects as proof of this reincarnation and that his _death_ a thousand years ago was simply a setback in his eventual triumph over the other three founders. We also know he spent considerable time searching for Slytherin's staff, locket and ring. He would view the successful creation of a Horcrux of one of these items as proof he was indeed Slytherin reborn because if he were not, the objects would never accept his soul into them.

"One thing the Rauðskinna contained was a passage about the types of objects that had been chosen to house Horcruxes in the past. Gottskalk Nikulausson believed he had identified four individuals to have successfully created Horcruxes. Only one, Rhiannon y Coch, or Rhiannon the Red, so named for the tears of blood that never stopped leaking from her eyes, ever managed to create more than one. In the case of all five Horcruxes, the objects used were something of meaning to the owner; a battle sword, a necklace, a ring, a dagger, and a chalice. Nikulausson makes note of this because in his own musings on creating a Horcrux he wonders why not a simple grain of sand; something that could be lost forever without trying."

"Remus," Sirius interrupted, "did you have a point you were trying to make?"

Remus glowered at him. "The point I'm trying to make is I believe we have identified the most likely objects Voldemort might have used without help from Dumbledore. Further there is no indication we are treading on ground Dumbledore has already turned over. I think it is time to focus our efforts not on the what, but the where, and I feel Dumbledore will remain just as unused by us going forward as he has to this point."

"So basically you don't think Dumbledore is going to be any help to us other than as a figurehead should Snake-Face come back, and even then you're not convinced he'll be much help?"

"That would cover most of it, yes."

"Well then why didn't you just say so?"

"Because some of us are interested in the reason behind the answer you halfwit," Lily said.

Sirius banged his head on the table. "Someone wake me when we're ready to make a decision," he muttered.

"Harry took the decision out of our hands when he threatened to engage Snape in an all out mind battle till one of them was dead if Amelia didn't agree to arrest him," Bill said. "The point I think important that Remus hasn't quite gotten to is that while Voldemort was frightened of Dumbledore the fact remains Dumbledore was losing the war. Everything he did was reactive. We've discussed this before. If it comes to a returned Voldemort and a full on shooting war, we can't afford to fight under the rules of engagement your old Order of the Phoenix placed on you. Dumbledore wasn't willing to kill before and if I'm not mistaken, Remus, you feel he won't be willing to kill, or have his people kill, this time around either."

"Correct," Remus agreed.

"I may not be a wizard," David said, "but I know you can't win a war if you aren't willing to kill the people shooting at you."

"It's a moot point," Mali said. "The worry in taking Snape down was taking Dumbledore down with him. For whatever reason, it would appear that isn't a concern. Harry has taken out a major source of anxiety for all of us. He has weakened Dumbledore's position. And it would appear we are allowed to keep our figurehead in place."

"Frankly," Bill said, "I'm of the opinion we try the son-of-a-bitch and set his ass in Azkaban as quickly as we can."

"Why?" Lily asked. "Don't get me wrong, I want him in Azkaban as badly as anyone. I just want to know your reasoning."

"Because if we all agree we'd rather not take down Dumbledore just yet, but also suspect he's done something to Snape's mind to remove anything that might implicate him, we need to be concerned with the possibility Snape breaks through whatever _was_ done to him."

"Very true," Andromeda agreed. "Ginny is very powerful, but unlike Severus she has yet to fully harness those powers. She might be the most skilled Occlumens I've ever crossed swords with now, but she was not when she first began battling the Horcrux. If she can beat back what the Dark Lord was doing to her, then we must assume Severus can eventually defeat what Albus has done to him. The sooner he is tried, found guilty, and imprisoned, the better."

"What are your thoughts, Anders?" Lily asked.

"I find I agree with William. Severus Snape has been the puppet of Albus Dumbledore from the moment he turned spy against the Dark Lord. Would his hatred of James have been enough to drive him to treat Harry as he has? Perhaps. But the assaults on the minds of the rest? I feel he would not have done so without direction from Albus. I feel me must assume Albus has done something to Severus and we must further assume the longer we delay, the more likely Severus breaks through whatever was done to him."

"And you found nothing either, Bill?" Lily asked.

Bill shook his head. "I'm good, Lily. But Dumbledore's got a century on me. If he's done something, I haven't found it yet."

"Alright then." Lily glanced at the others before focusing on Amelia. "Feed him to the dementors, Amelia."

Well after everyone had left, Remus joined Lily on the porch. He leaned on the rail beside her. "Alright?"

"No."

Remus nodded slightly. "Want to talk?"

"Not really."

"Want me to stay?"

"You sure you can stand the company?" Remus said nothing but placed his hand over hers. After a minute she turned her hand to clasp his. "The greatest regret of my life is letting James win that argument."

"You couldn't have known, Lils."

"I did, Remus. I knew Sirius wasn't capable of putting Harry's needs first and I allowed him to be named Harry's godfather over you. My son is thirteen Remus. Eight of those years he has been horrifically abused; six by my sister and two by his teacher and in both cases I allowed it to happen because I didn't do what I should have and now I'm leaving Dumbledore in place."

"We don't know for certain that Severus wasn't acting on his own."

She turned to face him. "Don't we…? Don't we know Dumbledore tried to use Legilimency on Harry within twenty-four hours of his arriving at that school? We know he attacked Harry. We know he did nothing to stop the abuse Severus heaped on hundreds of students beyond the pack we all seem to have collected. We condemn him for it yet we sit back and actually _do_ nothing. We've got the votes now, Remus. The fact is we could easily get rid of him… So why don't we?"

Remus drew a deep breath and blew it out. "I don't know, Lils."

"One more thing, Remus, if he doesn't stay away from my son, if he doesn't start running that school like it should be, then I'm going after him. I don't care if its Sirius' and my vote joining with Lucius and his lot against the rest of the neutral and light families, I'm taking him down."

Remus nodded. "Alright."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

 **THUD!** The day before they were to return to school found Harry and the rest at the dojo. Harry jumped up and grabbed the bar for a set of pull-ups. _One – Two – Three – Four – Five – Six_ – **THUD!** Harry lost his rhythm. _Seven – Eight – Nine – Ten._ He ripped off eighteen total before he dropped to the ground and shook his arms out. Neville jumped up in his place, ripping off eighteen pull-ups of his own. _Come on,_ Harry psyched himself up for his next set, _twenty this time and then you can go back down. You got this. You got this._ Neville dropped and Harry moved to take his place. **THUD!** His concentration faltered for a second but he jumped up and grabbed the bar, making it to seventeen before he needed to just hang for a second. Panting, he gathered himself. **THUD!** Harry pulled. _Eighteen._ He dropped and pulled again. _Ninneetineee._ He dropped and dangled. _Come on. Come on._ Harry pulled… and pulled… "Twennnnty!" He let his air out explosively and dropped to the ground.

"Nice," Neville said. **THUD!**

Harry shook his trembling arms. "Thanks." Neville jumped up and grabbed the bar, making it to eighteen before he started to struggle. A bit of just hanging allowed him get two more for twenty before he dropped and dangled. "Come on, Nev," Harry encouraged. "You got this." Neville pulled, grunting with effort to get his chin over the bar before dropping and collapsing to his back with his arms splayed limply on the floor. "Nice," Harry said. **THUD!** He jumped up on the bar, and ripped off a set of fifteen. _One left. Just one more,_ he panted, shaking his arms out while he waited for Neville to do his set. **THUD!** Harry jumped up, managing to crank out a set of ten pull-ups with little trouble. Neville finished his last set and dropped to the ground beside Harry. **THUD!**

"Do they have to do that?" Neville muttered.

"Do what?" Harry asked.

Neville waved his hand disgustedly at the girls. Just then Ginny finished a set of sit-ups on the incline bench and dropped the medicine ball to the floor. **THUD!** "That."

"Drop the ball?"

"No, that," Neville complained.

Harry had been studiously doing his best to not watch the girls. For some reason Mali and his mum had thought they needed new workout clothes. The outfits really weren't immodest. He'd seen girls in far less at the beach. It hadn't started off bad. The new tracksuits just… clung right, but hadn't been too problematic for him. They just looked nice. But then they'd reached the dojo and the four girls had stripped down to tight shorts and matching bra tops for the rest of their conditioning work. Harry had never really had particularly impure thoughts about Ginny before, but the confirmation she really did have freckles _everywhere_ had awoken him to the fact neither of them were eleven anymore. Frankly, he was surprised he hadn't had an aneurysm on the spot. He glanced up now, his eyes locking on an expanse of creamy skin generously splattered with freckles along Ginny's ribcage. "Tell me about it," he muttered.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Author's Notes:

As mentioned previously, I continue to use song lyrics and titles throughout the story. I believe I gave appropriate credit in the actual story so I'll leave it at that.


	18. Chapter 18

Standard disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR. Except where I might use some song lyrics which I will call out at the time and give proper credit. Thank you JKR for letting us play with your toys.

I will continue to use the occasional song lyric in the story and will give credit at the time when needed.

This is the fourth book in my Slytherin Harry series. And I'm departing from reusing JKR's title because too much of the story has changed. I'll leave it up to all of you to decide just who the Blood Traitor's Daughter is. In my mind there is more than one candidate.

Book 1: Harry Potter and the Muggle's Daughter

Book 2: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Book 3: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Book 4: Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor's Daughter.

If you haven't read books 1-3 you won't know what's going on. But the bonus is you've got three completed books before you even get to this one!

And last, the disappointing bits.

First, because the site gives me such difficulty uploading, I've adjusted my writing to make things easier and made chapters generally shorter than in the past I try to keep things at about 5000 words because it just works best.

Second, to ensure I keep the production of new material ahead of the pace of my posting I'm afraid I have to go to every other week. I'm sorry, but I'm doing the best I can.

* * *

 **HARRY POTTER AND THE BLOOD TRAITOR'S DAUGHTER**

 **CHAPTER XVIII**

 **You Please Me, Narcissa.**

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

The last night before school Ginny found Harry up in the loft in the barn. He'd pushed the big sliding door open and was sitting in the swirling cold looking up at the stars. "Mind if I sit?" she asked. Harry waved her to the opposite side of the opening. "Thanks."

"Welcome." He tried not to watch her as they sat there, but watching her was a habit he just couldn't break. And believe you me, more than once he'd wished he could. Life might be easier that way.

"Good Christmas?" he asked.

She rocked her head back and forth. "Mostly."

"Mostly?"

"Mostly." Apparently she wasn't going to elaborate for him.

"Are you looking forward to your present?" It had taken him a long time to determine something he could give her for her second gift that was more individual than the players and CDs he'd given everyone for their first. Not wanting to create reminders, he hadn't wanted to replace anything she had burnt the first time around. An owl was out for similar reasons. A cat or a dog wasn't a good choice till she had completed her animagus transformation.

The answer had come from Charlie by way of Mrs Tonks. The League was planning to announce weeklong summer camps hosted by the various teams. Charlie and Bill had been trying to scrape the money together to send Ginny to the camp hosted by the Holyhead Harpies, the only all female professional quidditch side in the UK. Ginny was a massive fan of the team and their captain Gwenog Jones. Unfortunately Ginny's brothers felt they couldn't send her if they couldn't send Ron to the camp the Chudley Canons were hosting. Mrs Tonks had mentioned the camp to Harry when he'd told her he was struggling with what to get Ginny. Harry and his mum had stepped in to help cover the costs.

A true smile graced her face. "Yes, thank you."

"You're welcome." They fell silent for a while and Harry went back to watching the stars.

"Why did you give me that memory?"

Harry focused on her. "Because I didn't want something else hanging over my head that might drive you away from me."

"Harry, we're _thirteen_."

Harry shrugged. "Didn't seem to bother you when we were eleven."

She frowned. "What?"

"Isn't that what you were asking when you made me promise before I kissed you? Cause I know that _is_ what I promised."

Ginny stared back at him. "I was eleven and stupid."

Harry sighed. "Look, Ginny, I gave you that memory for two reasons. The first is cause I didn't want it hanging over my head. The second is because of what happened with your spirit walk. Daphne said you didn't ask the rest of us cause you wanted to do something without Hermione and I; that you needed something that belonged to just you. Fine, I get that, makes a lot of sense to me actually.

"But here's the thing, what you won't get viewing that memory is the significance of that storm. To anyone else, it's just a storm. But to me, it was pure evil. It was evil and it was after that little girl. I didn't even know magic was real, Ginny. But I chose to believe that girl I saw was. And I believed she was in danger and that the vision was a warning that I was supposed to save her from that evil.

"And I did save you. And don't even try and tell me it wasn't you, you described your house and the paddock and broom shed and told me you learned to fly by doing exactly what you did in that vision enough first year for me to know it's the Burrow. I was supposed to save you and I did. Neville may have eventually saved us both, but he would never have found you if I hadn't figured things out, opened the chamber and killed the basilisk.

"So _what_?" Ginny demanded. "I owe you my life now? I'm supposed to be with you because of some Life Debt?"

"No! Damnit, Ginny, what will it take to get it through your head I will never force you into anything? What I was trying to say is choosing to believe that girl was real and that she was in danger saved my life long before I ever went into the Chamber, fought a troll, or led a dragon away from you. My uncle was vicious that last year I was with them. I got beat so many times. And they starved me, and he whipped me with the strap soaked in poison again and I know I would have just given up if not for that little girl. I would have died without her. But I knew if I died there wouldn't be anyone alive to help her when she needed and I couldn't stand that.

"You were so happy; so alive, and I'd never seen anything like that, and I couldn't let something that amazing just be taken away. You want something of your own, well there it is, Ginny. Without you, _nothing_ else exists. Without you, I'm dead. My mum, Remus, Sirius, Hermione, Daphne, Luna, Mali, Mr Granger, Mrs Tonks, all these amazing friendships, they're gone… and Voldemort is back… and I'm dead… and you're dead… and everything I care about is gone. And I don't give a damn that I was only eleven because I've known since I was seven."

Ginny just stared back at him. "And if I decide I'm a panther?"

"Then that's your choice." He held her eyes for a second. "Just know, if that _is_ your choice, then some day I'll leave, Ginny… Because I can't see you and not want you. I can't hear your voice without wanting to feel your breath on my skin. I can't smell you without wanting to touch you. And it just hurts too much to see you sitting across from me and know you don't feel the same." He tipped his head back against the wall to watch the stars again. "But it will always be your choice, Ginny."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Harry was sitting with Hermione, Ginny and Luna on the train, waiting for Neville and Daphne to join them when a scream pierced the general hubbub of students and family members as they hustled their children back to school after the Christmas hols. "What was that?" Harry asked.

"ASTORIA!"

Harry looked sharply at Ginny. A split second later he dove for the door. "Daphne," she cried, rushing after him.

"Harry!" Hermione cried.

Harry was on the platform in seconds.

"LET HER GO!"

"RELEASE MY DAUGHTER!"

"WHERE IS HARRY POTTER!"

A strong pair of hands grabbed Harry from behind. "Hold on, Pup," Sirius said. Remus grabbed Ginny as she tried to race past.

"Let me go!" Harry snarled.

"BRING ME HARRY POTTER!"

"Sorry, Pup." Harry grabbed Sirius' arm, shifted and threw him. "Offha!" Sirius gasped, landing heavily on his back.

"Get out of my way!" Harry snarled, shoving into the crowd. And if Draco or a few others were shoved a bit harder than necessary who was going to know?

"Easy there, Mr, wouldn't want to do anything you might regret," an auror tried to calm the assailant.

"I'M WARNING YOU. IF YOU DON'T BRING ME HARRY POTTER!"

"Now, you know I can't—"

"I'm here!" Harry said stepping past the tall, black, auror; Director Bones had said the man's name was Kingsley Shacklebolt. Across from the auror was someone, a man if his voice meant anything, wearing a black cloak and a skeletal mask with eye slits like a snake, to hide his face. Harry recognized the mask as being like those worn by Voldemort's Death Eaters. The man held Astoria with her back tight to his chest, an arm clamped around her neck. His free hand held a knife to her cheek. She was crying and obviously terrified. His back was to the wall of the station, but where there should have been brick, there was nothing. Somehow he had created a portal through the wards. Any spell at all, from the half dozen aurors that had wands trained on the pair, would send them both flying back through the portal.

"Yes," the man hissed. "I knew you'd come, Harry." The auror stepped in front of Harry again. "GET BACK!" the man screamed. "I'll KILL HER." He pressed the knife into Astoria's flesh, drawing blood.

"AAIIIEE!" she screamed.

"Let me see Potter or she dies!"

Harry stepped next to the auror again. "What do you want?" he demanded.

"You, Harry. I want you."

"Let me through! Damnit, clear the way or I'll have every one of you arrested!" The crowd shifted, allowing the newcomer through.

"Ah, yes," the man said, "how lovely of you to join us, Director."

"What is it you want?" Director Bones demanded.

"A simple exchange, Director. The girl for The-Boy-Who-Lived."

"Deal," Harry said stepping forward.

"NO!" Hermione screamed.

The auror clamped a powerful hand on Harry's shoulder. Even with surprise on his side Harry doubted he'd be able to throw him. He was bigger than Mr Granger. "Now, I can't let you do that, Mr. Potter," he warned.

"Easy, Kingsley," Director Bones soothed. She remained focused on the man holding Astoria. "You'll let her go if I give you Harry Potter?"

"Director?" Kingsley asked. She held her hand up, silencing him.

"I give you my word."

"Your word is a little suspect right now."

"You have no choice. The-Boy-Who-Lived, or the blood traitor's daughter dies." He emphasized his point by dragging the knife down Astoria's cheek. She let out a blood-curdling scream.

"Stop! Just stop!" Daphne cried.

The man laughed manically. "Don't worry, Girly. Your turn is coming. You, daddy and mummy will all pay for their betrayal of my Lord." Daphne lunged forward only to be held back by her parents.

"What do you want with Harry Potter?" Director Bones asked.

"My Lord wishes to speak with him." A rush of whispers swept the crowd.

"Quite!" Director Bones barked. "Your, Lord? Surely you don't mean Lord Voldemort—" Dozens of screams filled the air. "—You must know he's dead."

"Oh, but he's not, my dear Director. Lord Voldemort is immortal. And Harry Potter is going to help me restore him to his full power."

"You're mad. Voldemort is dead. He was defeated October 31st, 1981. Every witch and wizard in England knows that."

"Believe what you will, Director. My Lord and Master is not dead. Now enough stalling. Potter for the girl or I kill her."

"I'll go," Harry said. He was prevented from moving by the iron grip on his shoulder.

"Harry, you can't," Hermione pleaded.

"I have to," Harry answered, not taking his eyes off Astoria's assailant.

"Your choice, Director," the man said. Everyone held their breath.

"Let him go, Auror," she said.

"NO!" Hermione shrieked. Remus clamped his hand over her mouth.

"Director?"

"Now, Auror." He released his grip on Harry's shoulder.

"That's a good little auror," the man taunted.

Harry took a step forward. "Let her go."

"Stop right there, Potter," the man said. Harry did as instructed. "Wand on the floor." Harry triggered the release for his wand and let it clatter to the ground. "Hands on your head." Harry complied. "Turn around." Harry did, instantly locking eyes with Hermione. She was frantically struggling against Remus, but the werewolf was far too strong for her.

" _Are you insane?"_ she screeched the second he was in her dreamscape.

 _"I can't let him take her, Hermione_ ," Harry said. He clamped his hand over her mouth. " _I've got Mum's wand. I'm wearing my portkey. Trust me, this fucktard is going to get his ass kicked. Now I've got to go."_

"Back up," the man said. "Now!" Harry took a step back. "That's it." Harry kept his eyes on Hermione's for a second longer before briefly making eye contact with Director Bones. She gave him the barest of nods and he knew she understood. He then sought out Ginny, Luna and Neville. They were all crowded around Daphne, her mother and her father. "One step at a time," the man hissed.

Harry locked eyes with Ginny. "Stop there." Never looking away from Ginny, Harry did as he was told. "On your knees." One knee at a time Harry complied.

"Let her go now," Director Bones said.

Harry felt a hand on his shoulder. There was on brief moment where Ginny's eyes betrayed the realization the man was going to take them both. Disbelief flashed from fear to horror to rage. In the instant before he was jerked back he saw her hand twitch, her wand sliding from its holster and her body tense as she began to move. "I don't think so," the man laughed.

"NO!" Hermione and Daphne screamed.

Harry was thrown into darkness and his stomach felt like he'd just initiated a thousand foot plunge while on his broom. He couldn't breathe and his vision swam with spots. Just when he thought he was about to pass out he slammed onto the ground. He was instantly untangling himself from whatever his legs were tied up with and struggling to his feet. It took all of two seconds to ascertain he was in a cell and somehow the man was not. A soft whimper drew Harry's attention. Astoria had been what his feet were tangled with. Harry took another second to assess his situation. He desperately wanted to pull his wand and start blasting, or grab Astoria and activate his portkey, but he was only going to have surprise on his side once and he didn't want to give anything away unless he was certain of succeeding. The absolute worst thing he could do would be to activate his portkey only to find the cell was warded against them.

Seeming to be alone for the moment he bent to help Astoria. "Easy," he soothed, picking her up. "I've got you." He carried her to the far wall where he sat down on a stone ledge built into the wall with her in his lap. "I've got you." She burrowed into him, sobbing and shaking. "I promise, I'll get you out of here." He gave her a minute before saying anything else. "Astoria, I need you to stop crying now. Can you do that for me? I promise, I'll get you out of here but I need you to be strong. Can you do that for me?" He stopped and waited but she just continued to cry and clung tighter to him. "Astoria," he hissed a bit harshly, "did you hear what I said?"

"I want to go home," she whimpered.

"I know."

"I want to go home."

Harry pushed her away, clamping a hand over her mouth while holding the back of her head with his other hand. "Stop," he all but snarled, giving her a small shake. Her eyes widened fearfully. "You need to stop. Do you understand me! Crying and blubbering like you're two is going to get us both killed, so grow up and act like the girl you were raised to be." She appeared utterly terrified of him now but at least Harry knew he had her attention. Harry removed his hand from her mouth but kept hold of the back of her head so she couldn't move away from him. "That's better," he said gently. "Now, I promise, I'm going to get us out of here, but I'm going to need you to do exactly what I tell you. Do you understand?" She gave a jerky nod. "No questions, nothing; I tell you to do something, you do it. Even if that means you run and leave me behind, you do it, right?" She nodded again. "Good girl." Harry released the hold he had on her, moving his hand to her chin he turned her head and wiped the blood from her cheek. He smiled. "It's nothing. Madam Pomfrey will fix it up in a second. You won't even have a scar."

"Promise?" she croaked.

Harry knew she wasn't talking about the cut on her cheek. "Promise." He patted the seat beside him. "Now come here." She hesitated before moving beside him. Harry pulled her down so her head was in his lap. "I have no idea how long we're going to be here so I want you to try and sleep. That way you'll be able to keep watch if I get too tired. Okay?"

"Ok," she sniffed.

"Good girl." She found his hand and clasped it tightly. Harry tipped his head back and closed his eyes. He had promised Astoria he'd get her out of here, now he needed to do it. He forced his nerves to calm. Harry usually kept his wolf locked deeply away. The sensory overload to his ears and nose was just too much for him yet. Now, he loosed control, allowed the wolf to push into his veins. Suddenly he could smell Astoria's fear. The scratching of a mouse across the floor drew his eyes a second before its odor caused his nose to twitch. There was a faint eddy of air moving beyond the door of their cell, and the odor of their captor permeated the space. But it was old. For the moment, they were alone.

Harry sat and waited, trying to decide what to do. If their captor had some way of monitoring them and he drew his wand to try and cast a diagnostic spell on the door he'd be giving away his greatest asset. At the same time, it was entirely possible the cell was completely non-magic and he was just sitting here for nothing when all he needed to do was activate his portkey and they'd be safe. He'd just decided he was going to chance his wand when the sound of far off footsteps perked his ears. He gently shook Astoria.

"Wha!" she gasped, bolting up.

Harry clamped his hand over her mouth. "Shush," he whispered. "Someone's coming." Her eyes widened. "Exactly what I say." She nodded. "Good, now lay down and pretend to sleep." He pulled her down in his lap again. Harry tipped his head back and closed his eyes just as a door he couldn't see opened. Feet descended a flight of stairs. They must have been in a basement or something Harry surmised. The man's scent assailed Harry's nose a second before he stepped in front of their cell. Near as he could determine, the man was working alone. There were no other scents newer than months.

Harry opened his eyes but didn't move otherwise. He locked eyes with their captor. He was tall, very thin with patchy dark hair. It looked like he'd lost a fight with Mr Granger's weed whacker. "You lied," Harry accused.

The man laughed. "Of course I did."

Harry shook Astoria enough that she knew he wanted her to _wake,_ but not enough that the man could tell he'd done so. She bolted up. "Wha?" She whirled around, freezing when she saw their captor.

"Oh, you and I are going to have fun, Girly," he leered.

Astoria curled into Harry's side.

"Touch her and I'll kill you," Harry threatened.

"Look at you," the man sneered. "Playing the hero for some simpering girl without even a thought. You're not even smart enough to know you have no hope of even seeing the light of day again. How on earth were you sorted into the house of the great Salazar Slytherin?"

"Bad luck," Harry retorted. Mouthing off to Snape had always gotten a reaction from the man. Maybe this one would be just as easy to bait.

"Shut your filthy mouth."

"Why don't you come shut if for me, you inbreed, son of a whore, sister fucking maggot?"

The door of the cell slammed open. "You insolent—"

Harry's wand slid into his hand. "STUPIFY!" he roared, surging to his feet. Astoria crashed to the ground. Harry could barely believe it when his spell reflected back at him. The man had been wearing some kind of personal shield. But years of training with Hermione and Mr Granger had given him eyes in the back of his head. He ducked the rebounded spell and pressed on with his assault. Harry didn't need a wand to put someone down. He grabbed the man's wand arm, turned and in a second had dislocated his elbow. The man screamed and his wand went clattering to the floor. Harry kicked it away. "Grab it!" Astoria dove for the wand. A knee to the head sent the man sprawling. "RUN!" Astoria bolted with Harry racing after her. Harry slammed the door of the cell shut. His wand slid into his hand. "Colloportus!" he snarled. The man was still sprawled on his back when Harry ran after Astoria. He could just see her disappearing up the steps. Pouring on the speed he took them three at a time. He burst out of the cellar into a dirty, one room shack. Astoria glanced back to see who was chasing her and nearly fell. Harry grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out into the bright sunshine. "Come on!" He hauled her along, stumbling after him. They were about fifty feet from the shack when he turned, pulled her tight to his chest and activated his portkey

Moment's later Harry slammed onto the floor of the parlour with Astoria landing on top of him. CRACK! "Argh!" Harry screamed.

"Harry!" Mum cried, diving on him.

"Get the portkey," Director Bones snapped.

"Astoria!" Mr Greengrass hauled her into his arms.

"Oww, Mum," Harry protested, "Ribs. Bloody hell, Sirius, my arm's still attached to that!"

"Sorry," Mum said.

"Sorry, Pup, in a hurry." Sirius managed to get the bracelet portkey off his wrist. He shoved it at Bill who immediately took it and began casting spells to reverse it.

"What's wrong?" Mum asked, "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," Harry said. "Just, I think I broke my ribs when Astoria landed on me."

Mrs Tonks stepped in. "Let me see," she said. She flicked her wand at him, vanishing his jumper, then ran her wand up and down his side. A red glow emanated from his skin in three places. "Lay down for me," she said. Harry did as she told him to and she repeated the diagnostic spell. "Three of them. Nothing I can't handle though. Hold still." Harry braced himself. She gently tapped the first of the red-glowing spots with her wand three times. "Costis Conglutinate."

"Urgh," Harry gasped.

"And again." Once more Harry braced himself. She tapped the second rib three times. "Costis Conglutinate."

"Ahhh," Harry groaned. A thin sheen of sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Last one." Harry panted a couple of times and grit his teeth. She tapped the third rib. "Costis Conglutinate."

"Ahhhhh," Harry groaned. Wizarding healing could fix broken bones in seconds, but it wasn't exactly a painless prospect. And it took a lot of energy to accomplish it. Mrs Tonks magic started the process, but it was the patient's magic that compressed the healing a Muggle would take six weeks to accomplish into those few seconds. "Bugger, Harry gasped.

"We'll get you a Pepperup Potion," Mrs Tonks soothed. She brushed his fringe back. "I think that today you are my hero."

"You were brilliant, Baby," Mum said.

Harry smiled weakly. "I couldn't let him hurt her."

"Harry," Director Bones interrupted, "talk to me. Tell what happened."

* * *

Hermione sat on the train and fumed. She had fought and screamed and ultimately lost the battle to return to the Briar Patch. She was going to kill Sirius and Remus and Director Bones for making her get on the train. How dare they tell her everything would be fine and that she shouldn't worry her pretty little head! They had promised to stop treating them like children after realizing it was not telling them Voldemort's real name was Tom Riddle and now she was just supposed to sit here for six hours after her brother had been kidnapped.

The door of their compartment slammed open. "Well, well," Draco drawled. "I was hoping to see Scarhead but he's not here. Oh, that's right, he missed the train, didn't he? The-Boy-Who-Lived-No-More and a blood traitor down. You'll be next Mudblood."

Neville surged to his feet. "I'm warning you, Malfoy." Crabbe and Goyle crowded in beside Draco. Theodore and Blaise stood behind them.

"Sit down, Squib," Draco sneered.

Hermione snapped. She pushed past Neville, kneed Draco in the stones, grabbed Goyle by the arm, twisted and drove his face into the wall. She then spun back the other direction and drove an elbow into Crabbe's nose. She was in the passageway advancing on Theodore and Blaise almost before a shrieking Draco hit the floor.

"Hermione!" Neville grabbed her around the middle and picked her clean off the floor.

"Let me go!" Years more practice than him couldn't overcome the fact he'd taken away any leverage she had and he was far too strong for her to break the grip he had on her with just her hands. "Neville, I swear to Nimue if you don't let me go."

Luna squeezed past the pair. "You have three seconds to get out of here or I'll finish what she started."

The two boys exchanged a look. "Yeah right, Looney."

Luna narrowed her eyes at them. "One – Two – Three." Fast as you could blink she stepped into Theodore. He blocked her attempt to knee him in the stones, but she grabbed his arm, shifted her hips and flipped him over her shoulder. He landed heavily, smacking his head in the process. When she spun to face Blaise, she found Fred, George and Lee holding him.

"Daphne, you can't!" Ginny hissed. How on earth she found herself defending Draco Malfoy from attack she'd never know, but Daphne had stared at Draco whimpering on the floor for about two seconds before she'd jumped to her feet and kicked him as hard as she could in the side. Ginny had tackled her friend back to the bench at that point and was holding her at wand point. "Don't make me petrify you."

"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Professor McGonagall pushed through the students blocking the passageway. "You three, let him go!" Fred, George and Lee released Blaise, but not without a shove that sent him careening down on Theodore. "Detention, one week all three of you," she hissed.

"Yes, Ma'am," they said, clearly not repentant at all.

Professor McGonagall turned her attention back to the mess in front of her. "Release her, Mr Longbottom."

Neville set Hermione down. "Yes, Ma'am." Hermione pointedly straightened her jumper but defiantly held her head high. Professor McGonagall leaned forward to peer in the compartment. Ginny was still holding Daphne at wand point. Draco was sprawled on the floor crying. Gregory and Vincent both appeared to be nursing broken noses. Ginny glanced at her. "Hello, Professor."

She raised a brow imperiously. "Explain."

"Draco came in our compartment. He said something about missing Harry and him being The-Boy-Who-Lived-No-More and a blood traitor being gone. Hermione kind of lost it. She beat up Draco, Gregory and Vincent before Neville grabbed her."

"And you are holding Miss Greengrass at wand point for what reason?"

"She's rather upset with Draco as well, Ma'am."

"I see." Professor McGonagall turned. "What is the cause of your injury Mr. Nott?" she asked.

"Her," he spat, pointing at Luna.

"Is this true, Miss Lovegood?"

"I gave them the chance to leave." She shrugged unconcernedly. "It is not my fault they lack the intelligence to comprehend my threat of repercussions for not doing so was not made in jest."

Fred and George snorted. "Sorry, Professor," they said when her eyes shot to them. Her nostrils flared. "Mr Smith," she said. "Help Messrs Nott and Zabini get their friends to the prefects' carriage. "You five, in your compartment; I shall lock the door so no one may enter unless you open it from the inside."

"Yes, Ma'am," Neville said.

* * *

"This is preposterous!" Lucius Malfoy thundered. "My son has been assaulted. The very survival of the Malfoy line could be in jeopardy by that tramp's actions."

"Watch yourself, Lucius," Sirius warned. "That is my ward you are disparaging."

The fight had been going for near an hour. Sirius, Lord Greengrass and Lady Longbottom on the one side, Lucius Malfoy, Lord Nott and Lady Zabini on the other. Other participants were Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick and Professor Vector; all present as head's of house. Of course Professor Dumbledore was present. Minister Fudge was present because Lucius had demanded he force the expulsion of Hermione, Luna and Daphne. Sirius had pulled Director Bones in to counter him.

Lucius nostrils flared. "I want her out of this school and I want her arrested for endangering the Most Noble and Ancient House of Malfoy; one of the sacred Twenty-Eight!"

"Your son is fine," Amelia stepped in. "There will be no arrests, Lucius. If you wish to pursue a civil case, then by all means, do so. But there will be no criminal charges filed."

"Director," Fudge started.

"Be quite, Fudge," she silenced him. "You haven't got the authority to force me and you know it."

Face red as an overripe tomato he blustered. "Now see here—"

"Stuff it you peacock," Lady Longbottom cut him off. "The posting of Dementors to the school hasn't done you a bit of good. You're this close to a vote of no confidence. Now sit down and be quiet like the good little puppet you are." She turned from the spluttering man dismissively. "You haven't got the votes, Lucius. It's seven against five. The Granger girl won't be expelled."

"Frankly, as I understand it," Director Bones said, "It's your son who is in danger of expulsion."

"My son was assaulted," he hissed. Stepping to her threateningly.

She stared balefully back and tossed a file at his feet. "Your son's disciplinary record since starting Hogwarts is a bit concerning. He's earned detentions for fighting on numerous occasions; was nearly suspended his second week, and has been under threat of expulsion on three different occasions. Just last term he was removed from his place on the Slytherin quidditch team for threatening another student. It also says he has been instructed by his current head of house, his previous head of house, the deputy headmistress and the headmaster to, as much as possible so as to not affect his schooling, stay away from Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger. Tell me, Lord Malfoy, exactly how was entering the compartment of Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley staying away from them?" His face turned red with anger. "We know what was said. We know Harry Potter and Astoria Greengrass had just been kidnapped in front of their friends' very eyes and your son thought he would tease them about that."

"Press your case, Lucius," Anders said. "I promise you, if it goes to the full board, you will find your son is no longer a student of Hogwarts."

"You'll pay for this, Greengrass," Lucius snarled. He spun around and stormed from the office. Lord Nott and Lady Zabini exchanged a look before standing.

"I shall speak with my son," Lord Nott said. He gave a tiny bow, moved to the door and held it.

"As will I," Lady Zabini said. She swept out the door with Lord Nott following.

Minister Fudge was left rushing to catch up with them.

"Minerva, Filius, Septima," Dumbledore said, "If you would please see, Lady Longbottom, Lord Black and Lord Greengrass to their respective wards and children, I wish to speak with Director Bones privately."

"Certainly, Albus," Professor McGonagall said. She moved to the door. "Augusta, Sirius, Lord Greengrass?"

* * *

Hermione, Ginny, Daphne, Neville and Luna were sitting on a bench on one side of the hallway outside the doorway guarded by two stone gargoyles that led up to the Headmaster's office. A bench on the other side played host to Theodore and Blaise. Stephanie Chambers and Michael Macmillan the Head Girl from Slytherin and Head boy from Hufflepuff sat at opposite ends of a third bench; just in case. Draco, Gregory and Vincent were all in the hospital wing. Draco had still been in massive amounts of pain on arrival to Hogsmeade and Hermione had broken both Gregory and Vincent's noses.

All of the students straightened when the spiral stone staircase that led up to the headmaster's office began to grind. A second later Lucius Malfoy stormed out of the archway. With not so much as a glance at any of them he stalked down the hall and disappeared from sight.

"That looked promising," Neville said under his breath. A second later Theodore's father and Blaise's mother exited the archway. The Minister was directly behind them.

"Come," Blaise's mother snapped, not pausing as she walked past. Theodore's father said nothing as he went by, but both Blaise and Theodore jumped up and hurried after the three adults. The five friends exchanged nervous looks.

"Do we need to stay?" Stephanie asked.

Michael shrugged. "No idea."

"Mr Macmillan, Miss Chambers," Professor McGonagall said, sweeping into the hall, "you may go." The two Heads jumped to their feet and hurried away. Professor Flitwick, Professor Vector, Neville's Grandmother, Sirius and Daphne's father stepped out of the archway.

"Sirius!" Hermione cried throwing herself at him. He caught her. "Easy, Luv," he soothed as she broke down.

"Father," Daphne said, quickly standing. He opened his arms and she leapt to him. "She's with your mother. Harry saved her." Daphne let out a sob. Her father kissed her crown. "Shush," he soothed.

"Gran," Neville said warily.

She gave him a tight smile. "Well, done, Neville." He seemed to grow taller with her praise.

"Harry's fine," Sirius whispered. "You'll see him at breakfast."

Hermione pushed back from him. "You're not lying to me, are you?"

Sirius squatted down in front of her. "Never, Luv. I promise. Harry and Astoria are both perfectly fine and will be here in the morning for breakfast."

Hermione sniffed and swiped at her cheeks. "And I'm not expelled?"

"You will serve detention three nights per week till the Easter Break," Professor McGonagall said. "You have also lost Hogsmeade Privileges for that same time period. This goes for both Miss Lovegood and Miss Greengrass as well."

"What about me and Ginny?" Neville asked.

"You both managed to refrain from attacking your schoolmates and, in fact, attempted to break up the fight. You will receive no punishment. I award you both fifty points for your actions."

* * *

"Well?"

Lucius Malfoy scowled while staring into the fire. "Our son," he spit the word out, "is an utter fool."

Narcissa walked across the library and sat across from him. "I am to understand things did not go well?"

"Of course they did not," he snapped. She narrowed her eyes at him. He reached for her hand. "I'm sorry, my Love. I do not mean to take my anger out on you."

She gave him a small smile. "Tell me what happened?"

"Draco's past transgressions place him at fault for the altercation. No longer being able to count on the Greengrass vote, Black holds all the cards."

"They face no punishment at all for attacking our son?"

"Detention and the loss of house points," Lucius said dismissively.

"The Minster?"

"Has been efficiently neutered by Bones. For all intents and purposes, she is effectively sitting in the Minister's chair right now."

She nodded slightly. "Perhaps we should take more aggressive actions?"

"What do you suggest?"

"Tell, me, what do you make of the claim it was Pettigrew who took them?"

Lucius snorted. "The man was bumbling idiot. The idea he breached the wards on the platform is preposterous."

"Yet he escaped Azkaban," she pointed out.

"True," Lucius conceded. "My contacts have yet to bring me any information on how that was accomplished either."

"It is vexing," she agreed. "Still, does this not present an opportunity? Whether it is Pettigrew or someone else, could we not somehow make contact with them, provide them with the tools or information necessary to change the game?"

Lucius tipped his head. "You intrigue me, Witch."

She smiled. "I think it time the Greengrasses and their future son-in-law were reminded there is a price to pay for betraying our blood, don't you?"

Lucius raised a brow. "And what of the rumors of the Rauðskinna?"

"Little good it will do them if they are dead, yes?"

Lucius smiled malevolently. "Indeed." He raised her hand to his lips. "And have you a thought as to how we should proceed?"

She returned his smile. "Not as yet, but I do have other news."

"Oh?"

"I'm pregnant."

Lucius rocked back in his chair. "Pregnant?" he breathed.

"It will be a boy." He stared at her in disbelief. "Perhaps this time he will not be such a disappointment."

"When?" he whispered.

"I am due the nineteenth of August."

Lucius slowly smiled. "You please me, Narcissa. You please me greatly."

* * *

So things begin to pick up.


	19. Chapter 19

Standard disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR. Except where I might use some song lyrics which I will call out at the time and give proper credit. Thank you JKR for letting us play with your toys.

I will continue to use the occasional song lyric in the story and will give credit at the time when needed.

This is the fourth book in my Slytherin Harry series. And I'm departing from reusing JKR's title because too much of the story has changed. I'll leave it up to all of you to decide just who the Blood Traitor's Daughter is. In my mind there is more than one candidate.

Book 1: Harry Potter and the Muggle's Daughter

Book 2: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Book 3: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Book 4: Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor's Daughter.

If you haven't read books 1-3 you won't know what's going on. But the bonus is you've got three completed books before you even get to this one!

And last, the disappointing bits.

First, because the site gives me such difficulty uploading, I've adjusted my writing to make things easier and made chapters generally shorter than in the past I try to keep things at about 5000 words because it just works best.

Second, to ensure I keep the production of new material ahead of the pace of my posting I'm afraid I have to go to every other week. I'm sorry, but I'm doing the best I can.

* * *

 **HARRY POTTER AND THE BLOOD TRAITOR'S DAUGHTER**

 **CHAPTER IVX**

 **Well Drat**

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Harry was up early the next morning and on his way with Sirius to the Greengrass residence where he'd gracefully endured the fawning gratitude of Lord and Lady Greengrass before Sirius had escorted both he and Astoria to Professor McGonagall's office. From there the two had been sent on to the Great Hall and breakfast. As Harry walked through the silent halls with her he couldn't help but think she wasn't ready yet to be back at the school. Daphne had been right about one thing regarding her sister, she was a gentle girl who wouldn't have survived the shark infested waters of Slytherin House well. He could tell she was trying to hold it together but was on the verge of cracking and running out the doors at any second. "Alright?" he asked.

"Yes," she croaked.

Harry stopped her, turning her to face him. "There's nothing wrong with being scared," he said.

She looked down at the floor. "You aren't. Nothing scares you."

Harry reached out and gently raised her chin. "Never mistake being brave or being willing to fight with not being afraid, Astoria," He said solemnly. "I was terrified yesterday."

"You were?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, and you were very brave."

"I was not," she protested.

"You were, Astoria. You did exactly as I told you, when I told you. Being brave doesn't mean you aren't scared. It just means doing it anyway." She furrowed her brow, considering. "Astoria, I'll tell you a secret about being afraid if you want to know it."

"What?"

"The only thing you really have to be afraid of is disappointing yourself. Don't be afraid of what people are going to say or do. You can't control them, or stop them. They're going to do what they do no matter if you're afraid or not. So why be afraid of something you can't control?"

She frowned. "I don't know."

"That's the answer," Harry said. "We're going to go in the Great Hall, and people are going to come in. And they're going to point and talk and none of it matters because only you know the truth. And the truth is you fought. You listened and you did what I told you to and we beat him, and whatever anyone else says is just noise."

She threw herself at him. "Thank you, Harry."

Harry hugged her tightly. "Hey, what are big brothers for?" he asked.

She let him go. "You mean it?"

"Better believe it."

She smiled tremulously. "I think I'd like that."

Harry grinned and hugged her again. "Bril. Now come on. Let's go get some breakfast." He lopped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her along.

* * *

Daphne raced up the stairs with Ginny hurrying after her. The two girls burst into the Entry Hall just as Hermione, Luna and Neville descended from the upper levels. The five hit the doors as one.

"Astoria/Harry!" Daphne and Hermione cried.

Harry glanced up when the doors banged open. "Brace yourself," he hissed to Astoria and tugged her up. She giggled. An instant later he was hit by a bushy-haired missile, staggering him back. He lost the fight to keep his balance when Luna piled into them both. Harry laughed. "Easy, Hermione, Luna, I'm fine. Bloody hell."

"If you ever do that to me again," Hermione said,

"We'll kill you," she and Luna said together.

"If you don't get off me, you'll asphyxiate me," Harry retorted.

Neville reached into the pile, grabbed a handful of each girl's robes and hauled them up. "Thanks, Mate," Harry said climbing to his feet.

Daphne latched onto him. "Thank you, Harry," she sobbed. "Thank you."

Harry patted her back. "Easy, there, Posh," he soothed. She hiccupped and crushed her arms around his neck, threatening to strangle him. Eventually, she relaxed her hold enough that he could breathe properly.

"Sorry," she said.

Harry gave her a squeeze. "Don't be."

"Thank you, Harry. Thank you so much." She let him go and backed away, taking Astoria's hand.

"Mate," Neville said, stepping forward. He wrapped his arms around Harry, lifting him clean off the ground. "Next time, you better bloody well make sure and take me with."

Harry pounded Neville's back a couple times. "No shit," he agreed. Neville dropped him. Harry glanced at his friends, settling on Ginny. "Hey."

She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. "You scared me, Harry," she said. "And thank you. Thank you for protecting her."

Harry hugged her back, trying not to read anything into her actions or words that wasn't there. Equally hard was resisting the urge to drop a kiss on her crown. "I scared me too, Ginny." The second he felt her letting go he released her.

* * *

 **Boy Hero**

 **Platform 9 3/4s served as the stage of every parents' greatest fear yesterday when a man claiming to be a follower of the late Dark Lord, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named held hostage Astoria Greengrass, the daughter of Lord Anders and Lady Adrianna Greengrass.**

 **Astoria, a first-year-student of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was taken hostage while boarding the Hogwarts Express for the journey back to school after the Christmas Holidays when the unthinkable happened.**

 **Readers will remember only too well the horror of the defeated Dark Lord's masked followers known as the Death Eaters and one can only guess at the terror felt by all present when faced with a specter not seen since the Dark Lord's fall on October 31st1981.**

 **But in a stunning display of bravery the very person who delivered us all from the Dark Lord just more than twelve years ago boldly stepped in to save the day once again. Facing the demand of Astoria's captor to come forward and trade himself for Astoria's life, Harry Potter, The-Boy-who-Lived, did just that.**

 **In perhaps the most astounding sight this reporter has witnessed in over thirty years of bringing you faithful readers the news, thirteen-year-old Harry Potter, relinquished his wand, placed his hands on his head and knelt with his back turned to his would-be abductor!**

 **But despite the astounding display of bravery on the part of Harry Potter, Astoria's captor had treachery in mind all along and instead of releasing her as promised, took _both_ Harry and Astoria. The cries of anguish at the disappearance of the two students by friends and family are not something this reporter will soon forget. Things looked dark indeed.**

 **But within an hour of their disappearance, Director Bones announced the two had been found and rescued from their captor with no harm, other than quickly healed superficial wounds to Astoria, done.**

 **For more turn to page 3**

 **Rita Skeeter reporting.**

 **Genius or Folly**

 **DMLE Director Makes Career Defining Decision**

 **Faced with the possible abduction and threatened murder of Hogwarts student Astoria Greengrass, daughter of Lord Anders Greengrass and his wife Lady Adrianna Greengrass, by a man dressed as a follower of the vanquished Dark Lord, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, DMLE Director Amelia Bones made what she called the most difficult decision of her life.**

 **Astoria Greengrass had been taken hostage while attempting to board the Hogwarts Express for the journey back to school after the Christmas Holidays. Her captor's true target though was none other than He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's vanquisher, Harry Potter. The man demanded Harry ransom himself for Astoria's life.**

 **Bravely, Harry Potter agreed to Astoria's captor's demand. But agreement or not, Harry Potter is still a child; himself only thirteen. Faced with the impossible choice of choosing one child over another Director Bones agreed to the demands of Astoria's captor.**

 **For a very short time it appeared Director Bones decision would result not in just the end of her career, but the loss of both Astoria's and Harry's lives when the assailant failed to release Astoria and instead took both her and Harry captive and fled. But within an hour of being taken Director Bones was announcing the safe recovery of both Harry and Astoria.**

 **Answers remain scant, with Director Bones releasing only a brief statement.**

 **"While the Dark Lord is gone, followers of his do remain. I knew Astoria's assailant had no intention of honoring his word to release her in exchange for Harry. I also knew if I didn't give Harry to him he would kill her before my eyes. If I gave him Harry, he would take them both.**

 **Head Auror Kingsley Shackelbolt, while I distracted the assailant and reading the situation the same as I, was able to place a number of Tracking Charms on Harry. I was fully confident of finding them both and indeed, within five minutes of being taken, Aurors were on the scene of where they were being held captive. An assault was mounted and the good news is both children were recovered with nothing more than superficial wounds to either of them. Unfortunately, the assailant was able to flee and remains at large."**

 **Lord Sirius Black, Harry Potter's godfather also released a brief statement.**

 **"My godson has a very strong sense of right, wrong, loyalty to his friends and a desire to stand up for those who cannot protect themselves. This is not the first, nor will it be the last time he places himself in danger for the wellbeing of another. There can be no denying Director Bones took a risk today. Harry may only be thirteen, but he fully understood that risk. He made an adult's decision today. It is a decision I am raising him to make. It is a decision his parents would have raised him to make. It would be wrong of me to teach him one thing and then tell him he is too young when he makes those decisions. I applaud Director Bones for not allowing Harry's age to cloud her judgment. She found an asset where there appeared to be none and by doing so saved the life of Astoria Greengrass. Director Bones continues to have my full support."**

 **Lord Greengrass also released a statement on behalf of himself and his wife.**

 **"We cannot express our gratitude for the actions taken by Lord Potter in regards to our daughter. The events of today only serve to strengthen our conviction in aligning our family with that of Lord Black and Lord Potter."**

 **In counter point Lord Lucius Malfoy offered this statement.**

 **"While I am grateful for the safe recovery of both children, I find it unconscionable that the person in charge of the safety of our society would risk the life of a child in this manner. These events only serve to prove I am correct in this belief. I have called for many times, and reiterate now, a vote to remove Director Bones from office."**

 **Whatever side of the debate you find yourself on, the called for vote by Lord Malfoy remains an unlikelihood as Director Bones maintains a strong coalition of support. In fact, it remains more likely a vote of No Confidence will be called in regards to Minister Cornelius Fudge.**

 **Readers will recall the events at Hogwarts of last spring that saw, American witch Sandra Strout murdered and the brutal attack on Hogwarts' student Ginevra Weasley by an, as yet unidentified, dark wizard. At the time Director Bones called for a cleaning of house within the Department of Mysteries and the ranks of the Unspeakables for their failure to detect the person responsible. Minister Fudge declined to act on Director Bones' called for directive. Given the warding around platform 9 3/4s is the responsibility of the Unspeakables and that those wards were breached in yesterday's attack, one can expect Director Bones to renew her call to clean house and one must wonder if Minister Fudge will see a further eroding of support with the public.**

 **For more on Fudge's declining support see page 5**

 **Barnabas Cuffe reporting**

Cedric Diggory set the paper aside. Of course the events of the previous day had the student body in a tither. He was no different. Whether the man was a Death Eater or not didn't matter. Just the fact he'd worn the mask and invoked the name of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in his actions had sparked the burning hatred he usually only felt on Halloween. Death Eaters had killed his mother the same night Harry Potter had stopped the Dark Lord. He was four. From the time he was five till about fourteen, he had hated Harry Potter with every fiber of his being. Cedric was perfectly aware the hatred had been irrational. But that hadn't mattered to a boy who missed his mother and couldn't understand why, if Harry Potter was such a great hero, he hadn't stopped the Dark Lord sooner and saved his mum. It had taken Harry Potter actually arriving at Hogwarts for Cedric to realize the _great_ hero of the wizarding world was a runt of a boy younger than himself who had lost both his parents the same night he had lost his mum.

The realization had sparked a bit of Harry Watching from him. It had disgusted him the way the Weasley family had turned on their sister when she was sorted into Slytherin. He'd been as surprised as everyone else when Harry had joined her in the house of snakes. What had followed, well, he'd come to realize Harry Potter had a core of steel. But after yesterday, even that failed to accurately portray Harry Potter.

There were simply no words to describe watching as Harry traded himself for Astoria. He hadn't flinched or betrayed a single moment of fear. Cedric wasn't sure what he had witnessed, but he knew one thing, it was no thirteen-year-old kid on his knees on that platform. That had been a warrior straight out of mythology. He was hard; honed like a folded-steel blade. He didn't know how, but Cedric hadn't been surprised at all when Professor Sprout had announced at dinner that Harry and Astoria had been found and would arrive at school the next morning.

Found, yeah right! Despite what the paper said, Cedric would bet his left arm they hadn't just been found. Harry had gotten them out of wherever that bastard had taken them; he was certain of it. It was with that last thought settled that Cedric's eyes drifted over to the Ravenclaw table. As they had for the last two plus years, Harry and his friends were sat at the end nearest the Head Table. It was getting later, so the hall was quite full and he wasn't the only one with eyes on the Ravenclaw table. And the buzz was a bit different pitch than normal. Astoria was next to Harry and it very much looked like an open declaration that to touch her would bring the wrath of hell itself down on you – how was it a third-year was the scariest dude in the school? Astoria's sister, Daphne, was on her other side while Hermione Granger was on Harry's right. Ginny Weasley sat next to Daphne. On the opposite side of the table, flanked by Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood were Astoria's group of friends, Jessica, Victoria, Xui, Anwen, and Gwyneth. As expected they were garnering a lot of attention. Not all of it friendly; most of Ravenclaw didn't look pleased they were being crowded out by the group.

Cedric straightened his shoulders. Potter had stood up for a member of his house. He had been standing up for Astoria and her friends all year. Well, it was time he and his housemates showed Potter just what Hufflepuff loyalty meant. Leaning over he exchanged a few words with Head Boy Michael Macmillan.

Michael nodded slowly. "Let's get the others."

In short order the two had spoken with Jenni Mueller, Tomas Rowle, Rowena Stone, Vincent Lawrence and BreAnna Gould; all the rest of Hufflepuff's prefects.

The group determinedly walked over to Harry and his friends "Excuse us," Cedric said. Harry and his friends turned. Cedric stuck his hand out. "We don't know what all happened."

"But we saw what you did on the platform," Michael said.

"We just wanted to say, good show," Cedric said.

Harry glanced at the rest of the Puffs arrayed around Cedric and Michael. They all gave nods of agreement. Harry cautiously shook Cedric's hand. "You'd have done the same, yeah?"

Cedric quirked an eye. That had been very generous. "I'd like to think so… You lot should join us. You're settled now, but we've got room so maybe at lunch."

Harry glanced at his friends. "We might take you up on that." He shook hands with Michael as well. "Thanks."

"Least we could do, Potter," Michael said. "Just don't think this means we won't take you apart on the pitch, yeah?"

Harry chuckled. "Challenge accepted."

"Cool." Michael let his hand go. Turning to Astoria he asked, "Alright?"

She smiled. "Yes. Thank you for asking, Michael."

Michael grinned. "Good. You have a good morning and if you need anything you come find one of us."

"I will. Thank you, Michael."

"Cool," Cedric said. "See you at lunch, Harry." The group of Puffs returned to their table.

Harry turned back around. "Well, that was unexpected," he said.

"Are we going to switch?" Hermione asked.

Harry shrugged. "Don't look at me. I don't make the decisions around here."

"Yeah right," Neville snorted.

"I think we should," Luna said. "Our harmony is wrong."

"Sorry?" Harry asked.

"You seem to have attracted an inordinate number of females, Harry. And while you're very good looking, concubines were outlawed in 1439. Even if they weren't I don't believe any of us would be willing to share… or to be shared."

Harry goggled at her. "Luna, you really are insane, you know that?"

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Remus closed and locked the door of his office. "Please have a seat," he said. The six friends moved to the chairs.

"Will we not be working on the Patronus Charm tonight?" Daphne asked.

"At this point, there's nothing more I can teach you about the charm. I have full faith that each and every one of you will eventually perform it successfully, and we'll keep coming back to it, but tonight we have new orders."

Harry groaned. "Great, I'll manage whatever it is in all my spare time."

Remus ignored him and handed out a booklet to each of them. "Apparating?" Hermione asked. "How are we to learn to apparate when only one of has managed a full patronus and only once at that."

"Far more people are capable of apparating than the Patronus Charm," Remus answered.

"And the fact we're underage?" Daphne asked.

Remus grinned. "Well, you see, that's the beauty of it. You have to be seventeen to take the exam. Nothing say's you can't learn before then."

Harry snorted. "Yeah right. I'll run naked through the Great Hall at breakfast tomorrow if Director Bones hasn't already approved waivers for us." Neville sniggered.

"Please tell me he hasn't lost that bet," Hermione said quickly.

"Now don't be hasty, Hermione," Luna said. "Some of us might enjoy seeing that."

"Luna!" Ginny squealed.

"What?" Luna demanded. "Harry is quite attractive. And you know what they say about the relationship between size and how much magic a person has. I should think seeing him in the altogether would be most interesting."

Harry leaned over and slowly beat his head on the desk. "You kill me, Luna," he laughed.

"I don't believe I'm hearing this," Daphne muttered.

"There's a very simple solution if you don't wish to see," Luna countered. "Close your eyes."

"That will be enough," Remus said. "And rest assured, Hermione, Director Bones does indeed have waivers for each of you. Harry won't be treating us to the full monty."

Luna crossed her arms and huffed, "Drat."

Harry slid to the floor. "Kill me," he gasped.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Settled in her bed, Ginny spent about fifteen minutes working on her Mind Magic before turning her mind to her panther. When she next opened her eyes she found herself deep in the gloom of the jungle. Two slits of glowing light reflected back out of dark shadows. Tom, a live snake in his hands, stepped out of the foliage. Ginny forced herself to watch as he ripped the head off the snake, tipped his head back and lowered the entire length of the snake's body down his throat. Eyes dancing gleefully he smacked his lips and wiped the blood from his face. Ginny shuddered. He hadn't chewed at all. He smiled malevolently and offered her the head.

"Go away." Tom shrugged and went about wiggling the snake's fangs from its jaws. Ginny launched a rock at his head. The rock smacked him in the temple and bounced to the ground. Tom turned his hateful eyes on her, took the fang, held it to his eye and deliberately impaled himself with it. He didn't make a sound and when he was done, blood dripping down his face, the fang impaled in his eye, he went back to playing with bloody stump of the snake's head.

Ginny closed her eyes and forced her heart to calm. "You're sick," she said and walked off. Her panther couldn't be far. Tom followed, jumping in immediately behind her; so close his toes clipped at her heels. Ginny stopped and turned around. He leered down at her. She put her hands on his chest and pushed him back. "No closer." He smiled and inched forward. She glared up at him. Tauntingly he raised his hand and gently tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. Ginny refused to back away. "I'm not afraid of you."

"YOU CONCERN ME, SORCERESS."

Ginny turned quickly. Somehow, what she had thought was a large pile of rocks was actually Elitheon. The dragon was resting on the ground with just its head raised. Ginny swallowed nervously. To be perfectly honest, her Messenger Spirit frightened her as much as, if not more than, her Shadow. Tom shifted, crowding in just behind at her shoulder. She could feel his hot breath, putrid on her cheek. "Why?"

"WHAT ARE THE SPIRITS, SORCERESS?"

"Life, Journey, Messenger and Shadow."

"AND WHAT TRUTH DO SHADOW AND LIFE SHARE?"

Ginny frowned. "What do you mean?"

"TELL ME, WHAT IS DIFFERENT BETWEEN MYSELF AND THE LIFE?"

"Well, you're a guide. You're your own being. The Panther is my inner being."

"NOW ANSWER THE FIRST QUESTION."

"You mean the Shadow isn't its own being, that it's part of me? I understand that."

"DO YOU?"

"Yes."

Elitheon tipped her head. "TELL ME, WHY IS IT YOU ONLY VISIT THE PANTHER?"

Ginny stiffened. "If you're only here to convince me to be the wolf, you can just leave now."

Eyes of glowing blue ice bored into her. "COME, SORCERESS, FLY WITH ME."

"W –What?"

Elitheon lowered her head to the ground. "COME."

"You want me to ride on you?" Ginny croaked.

"IF YOU DARE."

"Where are we going?"

"TO LEARN THE TRUTH."

"You're going to take me to the wolf, aren't you?"

"YOU CONTINUE TO FAIL TO UNDERSTAND THE CHOICE YOU MUST MAKE. IF YOU ARE READY TO UNDERSTAND THIS, THEN COME. IF NOT, THEN RETURN TO WHENC YOU CAME."

"What do you mean I don't understand the choice? To be the wolf is to be with Harry, the panther isn't."

"AS I SAID, YOU FAIL TO UNDERSTAND. IF YOU WOULD LEARN, THEN COME. IF NOT, THEN ONLY KNOW YOU CANNOT HOPE TO COMPLETE THE JOURNEY YOU HAVE UNDERTAKEN."

Ginny scowled. "What do you mean I fail to understand?"

"JUST WHAT I SAID, SORCERESS."

Ginny sighed. "Fine."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

On the whole, Hufflepuff proved as good as their prefects' words. The welcome may not have been completely opened armed, but for the last two days Hufflepuff had room for himself, Ginny, Daphne, Neville, Hermione, and Luna at their table and it came with none of the dirty looks Ravenclaw had always given them. Cedric, Michael, the rest of the prefects and the quidditch team were quite friendly with them; as were most of the first-year students. Astoria was well liked among her year-mates and her brief abduction had affected them all. Some students preferred to keep their distance, but Susan Bones, the niece of Director Bones, had made a point of being friendly as well. Harry wasn't certain, but he thought he'd noticed Neville watching her a bit closely. It was a situation that bore keeping an eye on. He didn't fancy expanding his core group of friends too much more; it was just too many possible weak links. But if Susan was anything like her aunt, Director Bones' niece might be a safe addition if Neville asked.

Whatever, meals were decidedly more enjoyable when it didn't feel like it was the six of them against the world. Hopefully, things would continue to calm down and it wouldn't be too much longer before his actions on platform 9 3/4s were relegated to the dustbin of old news.

"Nancy."

"Poof."

"Worse than lesbians." Harry's ears perked. He tried not to but couldn't stop his eyes traveling to Hermione. She looked decidedly pale. His jaw tightened. He turned his attention to the Ravenclaw table and the source of the disturbance.

"That's it, bum boy, go sit with your boyfriend." An older boy, sitting in the area Harry and his friends had occupied till two days ago, had just been joined by another boy. Neither was in Harry's year and he didn't know their names. The boy whose face he could see sported a black eye.

Harry leaned over to Daphne. She always seemed to know what was going on in the school before any of them. "What's going on?" he asked.

"One of their roommates caught them together," she answered.

"So they're gay?"

"Yes."

"And the black eye?"

"Well, what would you expect?"

Harry continued to watch. Each new epitaph hurled at the two boys caused Hermione to pale further and she had subtly shifted away from Luna. "That's it." Harry stood.

Daphne grabbed him. "Where are you going?"

"I've spent two and a half year as this school's whipping boy. I'm not letting someone take my place."

"Harry, are you insane? Being gay is about the only thing worse than being of impure blood in the wizarding world."

"At what point did I give you the impression I ever cared what the inbred, sister-fucking, morons of this world thought," he asked.

"Harry—"

"Do you have a problem with gay people?" he demanded.

"I – I—"

"I – I – I what?" Harry demanded.

"It's disgusting, Harry. And it's wrong."

Harry glared at her. "And here you'd convinced me you were a decent human being. My mistake I guess." He pulled his arm from her grasp and moved to join the two boys at the Ravenclaw table. "Hey," he said, "mind if I sit? The stench of bigotry was too much for me over there." The two boys stared at him in disbelief. "Look," Harry said, "I'm not kidding. Whatever you are, I don't care. I just know what it's like to have people you thought were your friends turn on you."

"Erm," the boy with the black eye said, "sure."

Harry sat and offered the boy his hand. "Harry Potter."

The boy shook his hand. "Andrew Zigler."

"Nice to meet you," Harry said. He offered his hand to the other boy.

He took Harry's hand. "Daniel Younger."

Luna and Neville joined them but before they could exchange introductions, a seventh year and member of the Ravenclaw quidditch team by the name of Chase Harper, accosted them. "We never wanted you at our table before, Potter. Bad enough we've got to put up with the fudge packers, we're not putting up with you too."

"Then go sit somewhere else, Harpy; cause we're not moving."

"I'm warning you, Potter."

Harry slowly stood. "You're warning me?" he mocked. Giving the older boy a baleful look. "Let me explain something to you, Harpy, and as you're obviously intellectually challenged, I'll try to use small words so you can keep up. Since starting at this school I have killed a mountain troll, fought a dragon, fought and killed a sixty foot basilisk, survived being bitten by that same basilisk, fought and killed an adult wizard who kidnapped my friend, and just the other day I rescued Astoria Greengrass from an honest to god Death Eater." Harry paused. While obviously furious, Chase looked decidedly less certain of himself than he had only moments before. "Andrew and Daniel are my friends; hurt them, I hurt you. Now why don't you go sit down before you embarrass yourself further."

The boy tried to rally. "I'm not scared of you, Potter."

Harry sat down and reached for a sandwich. "You should be," he said and took a bite.

"I think you better move along, Harper," Michael Macmillan said quietly.

"I would suggest doing as he says, Mr Harper," Professor McGonagall said. The older boy said nothing more before angrily walking away.

"Thanks, guys," Harry said quietly to his friends.

"You're welcome, Harry," Luna said.

"I've got your back, Mate," Neville said. "You can count on that."

Harry looked over to the Hufflepuff table. Daphne, Ginny and Hermione hadn't moved from their spots and only Ginny would meet his eyes. She shook her head angrily. "Nice to know I can count on someone," Harry muttered.

"They'll come around, Harry," Luna assured him.

Harry focused on her. "You alright?"

She cocked her head slightly. "I wondered about that song. You really are very observant for a boy, Harry."

"Luna," Harry warned.

She smiled. "I'm rather afraid I've not fully appreciated what it's been like for you, Harry. I'm very sorry."

Harry enveloped her in a tight hug. "You're something else, Luna," he said softly.

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Ginny waited in the team area for Harry to exit the boys' changing room. It had been his night to put the equipment away so she knew he'd be the last one out. He paused for a half second on seeing her before attempting to just walk past. "Harry." He ignored her. "Harry!" she caught his arm.

Harry turned on her angrily. "What?"

"I'd like to speak with you."

"Yeah, well, you know, I'm not really in a talking mood, Ginny; something to do with having three of my friends turn their back on me."

Her eyes narrowed. "You can be a real arse sometimes, you know."

Harry returned her glare. "Would you mind getting on with it; just my _friends_ are waiting for me?"

"If you're just going to yell at me, then go."

Harry's cheek twitched. There were days he really wished she didn't have the hold on him she did. "Fine, what do you want, Ginny?"

"I just wanted to tell you I would have been there if you'd needed me."

"Would you?"

"I've got no problem with people who are gay, Harry. If it had come to it, I'd have been there. But I'm friends with Daphne too, Harry. And you had just unloaded on her."

"Daphne is wrong, Ginny," he snapped. "She deserved to be unloaded on."

"For the love of the goddess, Harry," she fired back, "do you have any idea what it's like being in your shadow? It's like staring into the bloody damn sun, that's what. Can you not allow us mere mortals just a few seconds to catch our breath before we follow you over whatever cliff you've decided to jump from?"

Harry stared at her. "I'm not apologizing to, Daphne."

"I didn't ask you to."

"Fine."

"I won't stop being friends with Daphne."

"Fine."

"She's a good person, Harry."

"I said fine."

"You need to remember how she was raised, Harry. She's never considered anything else. Give her time and she'll see she's wrong."

Harry sighed. "Alright already."

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Despite his talk with Ginny, the following morning Harry's training regimen was super-powered by anger at her, Daphne and Hermione; for the first time since being bitten he was able to equal or exceed his personal bests in every exercise. He'd finished his five-mile run in thirty-one minutes; twenty seconds faster than his previous best and a full five minutes ahead of Ginny. He'd been in no mood to double back and pick up the others when he'd finished and by the time they joined him in the greenhouse he was well into his routine. He silently powered through each exercise, finishing in record time and when done left without a word to shower. Breakfast saw Ginny join he, Neville, and Luna at the Ravenclaw table. Daphne regularly ate with her old group of friends, but it felt significant when she didn't join them. Lunch saw the scene repeated, while at dinner Ginny joined Daphne at the Slytherin table.

By far the worst though was Hermione. She hadn't got up to train with them that morning, and she sat surrounded but alone at the Hufflepuff table for meals. She hadn't sat next to Harry in class and she didn't join him, Neville or Luna at their table in the library that night. Not speaking with Daphne, Harry could handle. A confrontational relationship with Ginny, he'd put up with if that's what she needed right now. But since the day he and Hermione met, the only time they'd gone three days without speaking was when they'd blown up the picnic table with the chemistry set she'd given him and been forbidden to see or talk to each other; so when she came in for breakfast with her head down and didn't join them for the third day in a row, Harry'd had enough.

"Don't expect to see me or Hermione in Arithmancy today," he said, standing. He moved to the Hufflepuff table and tapped Hermione on the shoulder. "Come with me," he said when she turned. "Now," he intoned when she tried to object. She sagged and he turned to go, holding the door for her when she followed. "Let's go," he said, climbing the stairs. He found an empty classroom on the fourth floor and held the door again before following her in. He closed and locked the door and added a privacy charm. He then just stood there with his arms crossed till she eventually looked up at him. When she managed to hold his eyes, he opened his arms.

Hermione flew into his embrace. "I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I'm sorry."

Harry ran his hand on her back. "It's alright," he soothed.

Her body shook as she clung to him. "I can't be gay. I can't."

Harry gently settled them to the floor. "Shush," he soothed. "It'll be ok."

"I just can't… I can't."

Harry just held her, allowing her to cry herself out. "It'll be ok," he repeated. Eventually she calmed enough to stop crying. "Better?" he asked. She nodded against his chest. Harry pushed her up. "You know it doesn't matter to me."

She shook her head. "I can't, Harry."

"Hermione—"

"You've seen this world, Harry. I'm black. I'm female. I'm Muggle-born. I can't be gay too. I just can't."

Harry watched her for a second. "So what are you going to do?" She shrugged. "Are you going to try dating a bloke?"

Hermione played with the hem of her robe. "Maybe."

Harry reached for her chin, lifting her face. "Just promise me one thing."

"What?"

"Leave Neville out of this."

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For the next few weeks things remained tense for the group. Relationships were difficult between all of them. Hermione and Luna were understandably upset with Daphne, but Luna was also upset with Hermione. Harry was trying to be supportive of Hermione while also being upset with her for hurting Luna. He was also still at odds with Ginny; they had talked more in the last few weeks than all of the last six months, but it was always to argue about Daphne or Hermione's behavior. It seemed the biggest thing they had in common had become keeping their group of friends from shattering. He and Luna turned to each other to commiserate; which, annoyingly to them both, only served to further upset Hermione and Ginny. Through it all, more often than not, Neville ended up in the crossfire. Needless to say, tempers were short.

It didn't help that Luna, Andrew and Daniel were suffering new levels of ostracization within their house. Ghostie had renewed his relationship with Peeves, resulting in near two-dozen Ravenclaws, including every one of their prefects, being the victim of Flour Showers; basically a water balloon followed by a bag of flour. Despite the success of his campaign to torment Luna's housemates, things had gotten to the point Harry was losing all respect for Professor Flitwick. Daniel had spent yesterday in hospital after being pushed down the stairs and breaking his arm. Harry would have thought, given the man's heritage included goblin blood, Flitwick would not tolerate that kind of bullying from students of his house.

Harry's own house remained a trial. The quidditch team was sticking by him, but given that better than half the house were of the blood supremacist set, his open friendship with two students who were known to be gay only made things worse. Malfoy and his immediate group of sycophants were keeping their distance, but Harry was certain they were the driving force behind the increase of nasty words directed at him. Harry had thought he was beyond letting words bother him, but the invective behind the gay slurs was pushing him to his limit. For himself, he didn't care. It was the effect they were having on Hermione that had him on the verge of explosion.

One thing remained better though. Led by Cedric and Michael, Hufflepuff was standing by the group. They had even embraced Andrew and Daniel. In fact, as Harry looked up from his place with his teammates at the Slytherin table on the morning of the first quidditch match of the year, the whole of Hufflepuff's team, clad in Slytherin green and silver filed into the Great Hall, marched over to where Hermione, Luna and Neville were sitting with Andrew and Daniel at the Ravenclaw table and sat down. Even better was Fred, George and Lee, doing the same. Harry grinned. Now if they could just deliver the beating to Ravenclaw they were hoping to his day would be complete.

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"Goal!" Lee announced. "Slytherin look to be picking up where the well-oiled machine of last season left off. They've returned every starter from a team that took Ravenclaw to the woodshed in their final match of the season last year and that goal puts Weasley on four in the early going as they build an early 50 –10 lead over the Birds. Weasley is only a third-year, but she trails only Hufflepuff's Cedric Diggory over the last two years in snitches caught. There isn't a Snake slasher who can't catch a snitch but Weasley would be the last of the lot any team wants in the seek against them."

Harry banged into Chase, shifted his hips and sent the seventh-year skidding. The Ravenclaw may have been a foot taller and out weighed him by five stone, but Harry was solid muscle. He had years of judo under his belt and had gotten a few lessons over the past summer from Charlie on how to play _bigger_ than he was. He was also flat out better than the older boy. He snagged the pass from David and slammed it past the Ravenclaw keeper.

"Goal!" Lee announced as the Slytherin and Hufflepuff sections erupted in cheers. "That's 230–90, Slytherin lead. We're just past the halfway point of the match and things are about to get ugly fast. Potter is snitch eligible now and Payne drops out of the seek in favor of him. Weasley already has a snitch and continues to look for a sixth goal as Slytherin proves they're a match for the Bird slashers even when they're down a man."

Amber tore after the snitch with Cho Chang racing after her. With only about ten minutes left in the match, the Birds had finally pushed someone through to five goals. Amber, along with Harry and Ginny were both on six each for Slytherin, but her two teammates had two snitches each as well. She'd been after the snitch herself three different times already only to drop out in favor of Ginny or Harry after they had scored a goal. She was perfectly willing to accept the two were better than her and take one for the team to ensure they won, but she was determined it wouldn't take her till the last match of the season to get a snitch this year. CRACK! Out of the corner of her eye she saw Paden slam the bludger at them. She bent low on her broom, urging it for just that last bit of speed. Beside her, Chang hesitated, allowing the bludger to pass between them. It was just the space she needed to reach out and snag the snitch.

"And Payne has the Snitch for Slytherin!" Lee announced. Slytherin lead 570–140. That's her first snitch of the match, but with six goals she remains eligible for the seek and could tack on another hundred points in the waning minutes here. Hang that, Weasley has broken through for her seventh goal of the match. She's snitch eligible again and a catch by her is worth a hundred-fifty points. Payne drops into the chase again. And after losing out to Payne, Chang has seen the snitch already. She's after it again. And there goes Weasley!"

Ginny bent low on her broom and accelerated like she'd been shot out of a canon. She didn't care how much of a head start the Ravenclaw slasher had she was _not_ getting beat. It took her all of five seconds to pull even with the other player but before the battle could begin in earnest, the whistle blew. Ginny peeled away, angling for the rest of her teammates and the burgeoning celebration.

"And Slytherin deliver a message to both Gryffindor and defending champion Hufflepuff with a 580–140 win over the Birds in the first match of the season."

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With the first week of the quidditch in the books, Slytherin found themselves top of the table for the first time since Gwenog Jones had captained the team. Gryffindor had given the Puffs everything they could handle in the second match of the weekend, but came up just short in a losing effort to the defending champs 310–320. The Badgers had lost two starters from the previous season, one of them being their keeper, Andrea Svenson. Zacharias Smith, the boy Harry had very briefly been partnered with in potions before Snape had been arrested had won the position for the Puffs, but he had a long way to go in replacing the departed keeper. The Badgers still had Cedric though and as long as he remained on the team Hufflepuff were going to be a force to be reckoned with. Harry didn't doubt both teams would give Slytherin everything they could handle in the coming weeks.

Of course Harry should have been focusing on his essay for transfiguration, but the joy of having humiliated not only Ravenclaw but that idiot Harper as well was just too gratifying to not bask in. He was in the good graces of his Head of House, Slytherin were top of table, a good portion of the school had decided he wasn't actually the spawn of Satan and, joy of joys, one of the people responsible for the murder of his father was finally getting his comeuppance.

 **GUILTY**

 **Disgraced former Hogwarts' Potion Master and Head of Slytherin House Severus Snape was found guilty at trial yesterday of using the Mind Magic, Legilimency on an unwilling minor. The criminal was immediately sentenced to the high security cells of Azkaban for a period of not less than ten years.**

 **DMLE Director Amelia Bones issued a short statement regarding the harsher than normal sentencing.**

 **"Twelve years ago, Severus Snape was a repentant Death Eater turned spy to the Light against his former Master, the Dark Lord Voldemort. For his actions a nation weary of death, destruction, and cruelty granted him pardon. His redemption was believed so complete he was given employ at Hogwarts as Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House.**

 **"Charged with the awesome responsibility to educate the most precious of gifts, the children of a nation, Severus Snape _betrayed_ the grace of our nation. For twelve long years he used his position of authority to wage a campaign of terror over the students of Hogwarts culminating in the raping of the mind of the minor, Harry Potter.**

 **"This abhorrent betrayal of trust and second chance given is why I asked the Wizengamot to double the normal sentence for such crimes. I am pleased the Wizengamot has seen fit to treat the criminal with what I feel is still too lenient a sentence."**

Fred and George forced their way onto the bench on either side of Harry. On the opposite side of the table, Lee forced his way between Luna and Ginny. "Greetings, fellow pranksters," twin on the left, Harry decided he was Tweedle Dee for this go round, said.

Tweedle Dum gave a nod to Neville, Daniel, Andrew and Cedric. "Assorted hanger's on," he said.

Wee Lee set the Golden Prank Plank, emblazoned with Harry's name on it in front of him. "In light of recent events," he said.

"We've come to the conclusion," Tweedle Dum said.

"That there could be only one possible winner of the inaugural Golden Prank Plank," Tweedle Dee said.

Harry picked that moment to suddenly turn into a giant canary. "Bwaaak!" he squawked.

Luna crossed her arms over her chest disgustedly. "Well drat." She muttered to peels of laughter.

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Author's notes:

"Well drat." I've always been a Ginny girl, but Luna is fast becoming my favorite character of late.


	20. Chapter 20

Standard disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR. Except where I might use some song lyrics which I will call out at the time and give proper credit. Thank you JKR for letting us play with your toys.

I will continue to use the occasional song lyric in the story and will give credit at the time when needed.

This is the fourth book in my Slytherin Harry series. And I'm departing from reusing JKR's title because too much of the story has changed. I'll leave it up to all of you to decide just who the Blood Traitor's Daughter is. In my mind there is more than one candidate.

Book 1: Harry Potter and the Muggle's Daughter

Book 2: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Book 3: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Book 4: Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor's Daughter.

If you haven't read books 1-3 you won't know what's going on. But the bonus is you've got three completed books before you even get to this one!

And last, the disappointing bits.

First, because the site gives me such difficulty uploading, I've adjusted my writing to make things easier and made chapters generally shorter than in the past I try to keep things at about 5000 words because it just works best.

Second, to ensure I keep the production of new material ahead of the pace of my posting I'm afraid I have to go to every other week. I'm sorry, but I'm doing the best I can.

* * *

 **HARRY POTTER AND THE BLOOD TRAITOR'S DAUGHTER**

 **CHAPTER XX**

 **An Airtight Alibi**

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With the score 150–90 in favor of Gryffindor Harry blasted up to contest the seek against the Lion's Katie Bell. With only three goals to his tally, Harry couldn't catch the snitch himself, but with the way Oliver Wood was playing at Keeper, Slytherin just couldn't afford to let Gryffindor's slashers start wracking up snitches. He needed to keep her from catching it and hope his teammates could push Ginny past the four goals she'd tallied so far.

"And after denying Weasley on her last four shots, she slots her all-important fifth goal of the match past Wood," Lee announced. "She rockets up into the seek, replacing Potter who's done an admirable job preventing first Bell and then Johnson from snagging a snitch for Gryffindor.

Ginny dove through the whirling melee of slashers with Johnson doing everything she could to keep up. The snitch broke left and Ginny threw her broom into a skid to keep on it. Almost as fast as she lost speed she'd regained it and was closing on the fleeing orb. Johnson just couldn't stop from skewing out of control for a second longer before righting herself. It was more than Ginny needed to snag her first snitch of the match.

"And Weasley's got the snitch! That pulls the Snakes within ten of Gryffindor at 180–190."

"Potter!" David bellowed. Harry blasted up into the seek again. He still couldn't go after the snitch himself; only being on four goals, but getting Ginny to six goals was far more important to any hope Slytherin had of winning the match. Wood was insane. Harry hadn't seen anything of the like since Marcus his first year. Slytherin were taking Gryffindor to the woodshed in the chase, outshooting Gryffindor 40–29, but Gryffindor had nineteen goals against only thirteen for Slytherin. Gryffindor actually had three players; Bell, Johnson and Spinnet snitch eligible. Luckily for Slytherin, Harry and Ginny were delivering in the seek.

"And Johnson has finally managed to snag a snitch against Potter! Score is 270-190 to Gryffindor now. Johnson is replaced in the seek by Spinnet. She's on six goals already and Gryffindor can break the match open if they can just get another snitch or two. Potter drops in behind Spinnet, marking her tightly to prevent just that."

Play had compacted into the Slytherin end over the last few minutes when Ginny accelerated from the half line towards her own end to help. "Iowa! Iowa! Iowa! NOW!" Ginny shouted, repeating a play call from earlier in the match. Bell pounced, marking Ginny tightly as she had for the last half hour. As quick as she started, Ginny slammed on the brakes and reversed course. Anticipating Ginny would go all the way back behind the Slytherin hoops to receive the quaffle, Bell was suddenly far out of position as Ginny broke the other direction. Amber whipped a back pass to David who launched a bomb up to Ginny. Clear by twenty yards, Ginny snagged the quaffle and crashed down on the Gryffindor keeper. He'd stuffed her last three shots, but she froze him with a wicked fake of her behind the back shot before slamming the quaffle through the far right hoop.

"Potter!"

"And Slytherin have Weasley snitch eligible again! Score is 200–280 to Gryffindor. Spinnet remains in the Seek as Weasley and Potter trade places, but she's yet to catch the snitch and another catch by Weasley would be worth a hundred points for Gryffindor."

Harry made a lunge for the quaffle, the pass from Amber had been just a bit long and Wood had rushed out to intercept it before Harry could corral it and get a shot off. Harry was able to shield Wood off just enough to knock it up and over the keeper's outstretched fingertips. The quaffle clanged off the underside of the right hoop and through.

"Goal to Slytherin. Score is 210–320 to the Lions now, but that goal by Potter means he won't be playing defense the next time he goes into the Seek. "AND WEASLEY'S BEATEN SPINNET TO THE SNITCH. Score is 310–320 to the Lions, but with less than ten minutes to play it's anyone's match now.

Desperate to make up for giving up a snitch to Johnson earlier, Harry strained to break free of Spinnet. They still had a chance to win if he could just sang a snitch himself.

"And there's the whistle! Gryffindor win 350–330. What a match and what a performance by Gryffindor keeper Oliver Wood. Slytherin manage only eighteen goals for a hundred-eighty points on sixty shots. Meanwhile Gryffindor score three hundred points on just forty-two shots against the Snakes' Taylor."

Harry wretched his broom away from Spinnet and peeled down to the ground. Utterly exhausted, he sagged to his knees. Across the pitch Ginny disgustedly punted the quaffle away before settling to the ground where she collapsed on her back. Her second, six-goal, two-snitch match of the season hadn't been enough to push Slytherin past Gryffindor. Wood had kept them in check just long enough.

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The group was sitting in the Hufflepuff section for the second match of the weekend when Ginny leaned over to Hermione. "Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"Can you dread my hair for me?"

Hermione stared at her. "You want to dread your hair?"

"Well, that Johnson girl on the Gryffindor team has them and her hair is never in her face. I dropped two passes because my hair came out of my pony yesterday."

Hermione glanced at Harry but he'd either not heard or was ignoring them. "You do understand once you dread your hair there is no taking it out, right? You pretty much have to shave your head if you ever want your hair normal again."

Ginny nodded. "Yep, will you help me?"

"I guess."

"Thank you. Is there any chance we can do it before our next match?"

"Erm, if you'll help me revise for charms and history, I suppose we could do it after the match."

"Deal," Ginny agreed.

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One week after losing a close match to Gryffindor, Slytherin ran into Hufflepuff. It had been a high scoring affair. Ginny, continued her tear of six-goal, two-snitch matches with Harry matching her. David and Amber tallied five goals and a snitch each for Slytherin. But Hufflepuff had been just as prolific. Michael had a six-goal, two-snitch, match of his own; James Tanner and Victoria Corbin added four goals each and Cedric, well he tallied eight goals to go with three snitches. He'd been after a fourth when time had expired. Once again a superstar had been Slytherin's downfall; final score 620–660. After a promising start to the season, being 1–2 and in third place in the standings was a difficult pill to swallow.

Thankfully though it was Valentines' weekend, which meant no quidditch. Harry was ready for it. He'd woken the first two nights after the Hufflepuff match making lunges for imaginary snitches. A visit to Hogsmeade and the three broomsticks was just what he needed; even if Luna and Hermione were still serving their ban from the village for the incident on the train back to school after the Christmas hols. Daphne was as well, but at the moment he was barely on speaking terms with her

"Harry," Ginny asked when Neville left them to use the toilet, "can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"This is just an honest question, alright?"

Harry stopped eating and gave her his full attention. "Alright."

"What's the deal with the scorpion? I mean you've got the earing and I've seen you get henna on your arm with it a number of times."

Harry cocked his head, he'd expected something a bit harder with the preface she'd given him. "It's my Shadow."

"Your Shadow…? Oh!" She frowned. "Why on earth would you want that?"

"I keep hoping, if I keep it close enough, the damn thing will stay out of my dreams."

Ginny considered. "It scares you that badly?"

"It doesn't scare me; not anymore anyway. It's what it represents."

"That you're making bad choices?"

"Yes… Can I ask you a question?"

"My shadow?" Harry nodded. "Tom," she answered.

Harry blinked. "Tom?"

"He likes to follow me around, catching small animals and eating them raw."

"Raw?"

"He killed a bird the other day by biting it's head off."

Harry stared at her for a few seconds. He knew Hermione had started helping Neville and Luna with brewing the potion, but with quidditch he was too time-strapped to help himself. "So you're still spirit walking?"

"Yes."

He nodded slightly. "Good."

"Good?"

"You want to be an animagus, why wouldn't I say it's good you're pursuing it?"

Ginny shrugged. "You never mentioned it before."

"I told you the day you yelled at me about it I'd planned to tell you at the start of second year. I was going to teach you if you wanted to learn."

Ginny bowed her head. "You're right. I'm sorry."

"I'll help you now if you want."

Ginny held his eyes. "Even if I choose the panther?"

Harry swallowed. "Yes."

"Why did you choose the wolf?"

Harry sighed. "As much as I'd like to answer that, I think that is one part of the process you need to do without my influence."

"But I already know what you want me to choose."

Harry pressed his lips together and blew a deep breath out his nose. "You know now that Sirius is an animagus, right?"

Ginny nodded. "Luna says Hermione is as well and that he taught you both."

"Sirius, my dad and Pettigrew all learned when they were in school. They did it so they could be with Remus when he transformed and wouldn't have to be alone. Sirius is a great black dog; looks like a giant grim. Maybe you already know from the papers but Pettigrew is a rat. My dad was a panther."

"Your dad was a panther, and you chose a different form?"

"Being a rat didn't really make it safe for Pettigrew to be around Remus. My dad had a choice between being a panther or a stag. He picked the panther because he thought Remus' wolf would look at the stag as prey. My mum, Mrs Tonks, Hermione's parents, Remus, they were all really good about not pushing me on which form I should choose. Hermione desperately wanted me to choose the wolf but I never once got that impression from her. It was far more important to her that she not influence my decision. It's one of the reasons I care about her so much. So everyone was really good; everyone but Sirius. He put a lot of pressure on me to choose the panther so I'd be like my dad. And he was pretty upset when I didn't. I'm pretty sure there are times he's still upset with me. Sometimes Sirius doesn't see me so much as he sees his dead best friend. I like Sirius. I really do. But there are times I'd like nothing better than to punch him in the face."

"Harry, I can tell pretty much everyone wants me to choose the wolf. Daphne wants me to. I'm pretty sure even Bill wants me to. Even Luna can't understand what's going on in my head. Even though I know what you want, you're the person I feel the least pressure from. I'm not asking, looking for a reason for me to choose one way or the other. I'm trying to understand you."

Harry stared back at her. "I was alone for six years, Ginny; most of it locked in the dark in a cupboard. I never want to be alone again."

"I wondered," she said nodding slowly. She focused on him again. "Thank you. Harry."

Neville picked then to return from the toilet. Harry went back to his fish and chips. "Welcome."

* * *

Harry sat in his bed Valentine's night considering the letter in his hand. Ginny had given it to him just before they'd gone to bed. He didn't know if he was glad to have it or if he should be pissed that it had been eight months and she still couldn't tell him what she was thinking to his face. Sighing, he slid his finger under the flap and opened it.

Harry,

After what happened to me I swore I was never going to want or need anyone else again. Then they let Dementors on the train. I couldn't stand the thought I wanted or needed someone to help me feel safe the way you did. Thanking you would have meant accepting those things. I can accept help again now. So, thank you, Harry.

Ginny.

Harry folded the letter away. He wasn't sure exactly what to make of it, but he was going to take it as a good sign that she was no longer talking about herself as another person. She was still driving him crazy, but it seemed like he might be getting closer to winning her back. He flopped back on his bed with his arm over his eyes. He really missed Kaa right now. Somehow he was certain she would know what to say to help him. Why was it so easy for him to embrace the idea he was born to be with her while she needed to fight it tooth and nail? For the love of Nimue, he just wanted to tell her he thought dreads looked cool on her without being afraid she wouldn't talk to him for a month because he'd paid her a compliment.

"Bloody woman," he muttered.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

"Harry?"

Harry didn't bother looking up from his essay. "What do you want?"

"Can we talk?"

"I don't have anything to say to you, Daphne."

"So the minute someone has a different opinion than you do, suddenly you won't be friends with them?"

"Having a different favorite colour than me is a different opinion. Thinking scrambled eggs are better than over-easy is a different opinion. Condemning a whole group of people for something they can't control isn't a difference of opinion, it's disgusting."

"Well that's what I'd like to talk to you about. I'm trying to understand."

Harry set his pen down. "It's no different than being Muggle-born or half-blood, Daphne. People who are gay bleed the same as everyone else. And it's wrong to condemn or look down on them because of something they have no control over."

"What do you mean they don't have control over it? They're choosing to be with someone of the same sex. That isn't natural. How are they supposed to have children?"

"When did you decide you were heterosexual?"

"What?"

"When did you decide you liked boys, Daphne?"

"I didn't _decide_ I like boys. I just do."

"Well, it's no different for people who are gay, Daphne. They don't decide they like people of the same sex, they just do. They're born that way."

"But they are always with people of the opposite sex first, or even married to someone and get caught cheating with someone of the same sex. Even they know it's wrong, why else would they try so hard to hide it?"

Harry shook his head disgustedly. "Daphne, what would happen if you were gay?"

"I'm not."

"Pretend," he snapped. "Get of your pedestal for one god damned minute and imagine how your family would treat you, or how people in this school would treat you. Just for a minute imagine what Andrew and David felt when their housemates beat them up. People who are gay, are born that way, Daphne. They don't have a choice in it. They don't hide it because they know it's wrong. They hide it because people like _you_ hate them for it. They hide it because they're afraid someone like _you_ will beat them up for kissing their girlfriend. They hide it because they're terrified someone like _you_ will kill them for holding their boyfriend's hand. If you knew just holding the hand of the person you loved could get you killed, don't you think you might try and force yourself to be straight instead?"

Daphne frowned. "I don't know, Harry. I guess when you explain things that way I can, perhaps, understand what you're saying, but I still think it's wrong."

Harry clenched his jaw tightly. "Astoria's gay."

"What!"

"She's been kind of distant with you recently, hasn't she? Well, I found her alone in a classroom the other day. She was crying; took me a long time to get it out of her why she was so upset. But, you know, she saw how I stood up for Andrew and Daniel so I guess she thought she could trust me. I tried to tell her you just didn't understand; that you'd eventually come around and that you'd still love her, that your parents wouldn't disown her." He shrugged. "Guess she knows you all better than I do." Harry stopped and just looked at her. "Lucky for Astoria, her _brother_ will never turn his back on her."

Daphne went white as he continued to hold her eyes. "I need to go," she croaked.

Harry grabbed her arm. "Where are you going?"

"I need to talk to Astoria." She tried pulling away from him but he tightened his grip.

"If you think I'm just going to let you go destroy her, you're daft."

"Astoria is my sister! I will never turn my back on her." Harry continued to hold her, measuring her. "Let – Me – Go," she hissed.

"Astoria isn't gay, Daphne."

Daphne frowned. "W–What?"

"I lied, Daphne. You're sister isn't gay." He let her go. Bewildered, she stared back at him. "Amazing how making something personal changes your perspective, isn't it?"

Her eyes narrowed. "That may have been the most Slytherin thing I've ever seen you do," she accused.

Harry shrugged. "Deciding you would stand by your sister, no matter that she was gay, may be the most human thing I've ever seen you do."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

 **CRACK!**

The second half of the season started off with the Puffs against the Birds. It hadn't been pretty. Ravenclaw seemed to actually be getting worse as the season went on. The Puffs had dismantled them 990–250.

But today was the Slytherin's second chance at Gryffindor and Slytherin were absolutely determined they wouldn't be on the wrong side of the score when the horn sounded. Harry and his fellow slashers had spent hours on shooting drills since Wood had stuffed them cold three weeks ago. They were no longer content just to get the shot on hoop. If the quaffle wasn't placed exactly in the proper quadrant, it wasn't good enough; not if they wanted to beat the Gryffindor keeper.

"Oh!" Lee cringed. "This doesn't look good at all for Gryffindor. Slytherin beater Urquhart launches a wicked bludger that catches Oliver Wood in the shoulder. He's down and Madam Hooch has called for time as he's attended to."

Harry circled around to join the rest of his teammates. Paden and Terrance were busy congratulating each other. "Wicked bludger, Mate," Harry said.

"It was Terrance man," Paden said, "set me up with a perfect unseater."

"Think he'll get back in?" Amber asked.

"No way," Tiffany said, "I heard that all the way across the pitch. If his shoulder isn't shattered I'll eat my broom."

"Well we sure as hell owe them for Marcus two years ago," Ginny said.

"Got that right," Amber agreed.

"He's done," Harry observed. Madam Pomfrey had just loaded Wood up on a stretcher and was walking him up to the castle. He held his fist out to Paden and Terrance getting fist bumps back from both of them.

"Alright," David said. "Those two apes are going to be out for blood so keep your heads on a swivel. Especially you, Tiffany. Their slashers aren't exactly pushovers. I don't want anything to do with Elgin replacing you."

"We're going to take Weasley apart," Harry said, "so give up a goal if that's what it takes to avoid getting hit."

"Don't underestimate, Ron," Ginny warned. "He may not be Wood, but I promise you he can play."

Some two and a half hours later Ginny approached Ron. She was under no illusion it had been personal to Harry. But for her, all she had wanted to do was play the best she could… And she'd played very well indeed; to the tune of seven goals and three snitches. Harry had added six goals and two snitches. David had added five goals and a snitch. Amber finished out the demolition with five goals of her own; final score, 720-320 to Slytherin. The twins had been understandably down, but gracious enough in defeat. "Ron?" she asked.

"Get away from me, Snake," he snarled.

"Come on, Ron," Ginny said, "you guys have beaten us enough."

"You shouldn't even be out, here," he snapped.

Ginny stiffened. "Why shouldn't I? I earned my place out here just as much as you have."

"Girls shouldn't play quidditch. And they shouldn't do what you did to their brother. You've been nothing but an embarrassment to the family since the day you were sorted. Well, I'm done with you. You're no longer my sister."

Ginny raised her chin. "You're a coward, Ronald Weasley," she hissed before turning around and hurrying away.

"Run away, Snake," Ron called after her. He turned around and came face to face with Angelina, Katie, Alicia and the rest of his teammates.

"Girls shouldn't play quidditch," Katie said dangerously.

"I don't care if we have to play without a keeper next week," Angelina hissed. "If you're still on the team, I'm quitting."

"Me too," Alicia said.

"Me three," Katie said.

"Boys?" Angelina asked.

"I'll play keeper," Jaden said. "Thomas or Creevey can take my spot."

"Erm," Fred said.

"Could we maybe try beating him instead?" George asked.

The three girls turned on them. "Right," they said together.

"You're an idiot, Ron," Fred said.

"And you better find a way of getting them to forgive you," George said.

"Cause we're on their side."

"And Ginny's," George said.

"And Ginny's," Fred agreed. "Because, while that sucked."

"It was bloody brilliant," they said together.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Two weeks later Hufflepuff had beaten Gryffindor 430-370 to push their record to 5-0 for the season. Despite Slytherin pushing their record to 3-2 with a 550-130 demolition of Ravenclaw, neither they nor Gryffindor could catch the badgers in the standings. For the second year straight Hufflepuff were school champions and winners of the quidditch cup. That didn't mean Slytherin weren't determined to try and ruin the Badgers season by putting a blemish on their record in the last match of the year. All one had to do was ask Lee.

"And it's Hufflepuff verses Slytherin in the final match of the year," Lee announced. "The Badgers sit top of the table with a record of 5–0 and have locked up the quidditch cup for the second year in a row. Meanwhile Slytherin sport a record of 3–2 and, after giving the Puffs everything they could handle in a close loss earlier in the year, will have revenge on their mind as they try to run the table to end the season."

Harry banged into Cedric, blocking him off the pass. "God damnit," Cedric snarled. The first match Slytherin had tried to play man up against them and Harry just hadn't been up to the task of stopping the Puff's superstar. This time David had doubled him up about half the time. The rest of the time he'd helped Ginny against Michael. She was a better flyer than the seventh-year. But he was a seventh-year and Ginny was a slip of a third year. She could fly circles around him, but she wasn't going to out-muscle him. That had left Amber to mark James Tanner. The Puffs' last slasher, Victoria Corbin was left to Tiffany, Paden and Terrance.

The results of the adjusted assignments were enough that with five minutes left they'd built a lead of 620–520 over the Badgers and they'd held Cedric to only two snitches. He had already been on three and after his fourth by this point the first time around. But Cedric had just broken free to notch his seventh goal of the match.

He was on the seek again.

And with a catch being worth a hundred fifty points, the match was suddenly in doubt. Worse, Slytherin had no one currently snitch eligible.

"Potter, Weasley!" David shouted. "Stop him!" It would leave Slytherin down a slasher in the chase, but with only five minutes to play Hufflepuff wasn't going to score the eleven goals they'd need to win. Cedric was Hufflepuff's only hope of a perfect season now and everyone knew it. Harry and Ginny blasted up after the older boy. Leaning on him from each side they jostled him about, never letting him get free or even have a moment's peace that he could even find the snitch. Unfortunately the snitch decided it wanted to be chased and flashed in front of them. Ginny cut in front of Cedric while Harry simply grabbed a handful of his jersey and held on.

"And there's a blatant foul by Potter," Lee announced. "That's four shots to the Puffs, if they want them. But as time keeps running and the seek is suspended while the shots are taken it's a brilliant bit of strategy; dirty as a pig in the sty, but still brilliant. As much as I hate to say it, the Snakes are a skilled side and every player on the team knows how to use the rules to their favor. The Puffs have waved off the penalties, but the snitch is gone and we're under three minutes to play."

"Dirty son-of-a-bitch," Cedric muttered. He drove an elbow into Harry's nose, risking being called for a foul he knew Slytherin would accept, as it would drain the clock further. As he'd hoped, Hooch let it go; a bit of payback for Harry's earlier, dubious, bending of the rules.

Harry's eyes watered and he could taste blood as it dripped over his lips. Cedric went into a dive with he and Ginny harassing him every inch of the way. He shoved Ginny away and pulled up hard as she came back in. She went under him and slammed into Harry. For a second Cedric was free but they were quickly on him again. "Not this time, Mate," Harry growled.

"And there's the horn! The Puffs manage to close the score to 540–620, but it's still a loss to end the season for the champions."

Harry came out of the changing rooms to find Cedric waiting for him. He glowered at the younger boy. Though the two black eyes were a good sign. "Did I break it?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah."

Cedric grinned. "Good." He slugged Harry in the shoulder. "You're smart. I'll give you that."

Harry rubbed his shoulder. "Man, that hurt."

Cedric scowled. "I hit you in the other arm."

Harry cocked his head. "You did? Guess you better work on that punch, Mate."

Cedric swung again. This time Harry caught his arm, tugged and flipped him over his hip. "Offa," Cedric gasped from flat on his back. Harry let him go, stepped back and patiently waited for him to get up. Cedric warily climbed to his feet. "Don't suppose you want to teach me how you do that?"

"Only if you want to get up at 5:30 to train with me."

Cedric considered him for a second. "5:30?"

"On the front steps. 5:31, we'll be gone."

"I'll think about it."

Harry was walking up the steps with Ginny when Ron stepped out of the shadows. "Oh look," Harry sneered, "it's the keeper who can't stop his sister scoring on him."

"Fuck off, Potter," Ron retorted. He focused on Ginny. "I just wanted to tell you that was a good match."

Ginny's eyes narrowed. "If that's an apology it leaves a lot to be desired."

Ron sighed. "Look, I got mad, and I'm sorry, alright?"

Ginny continued to glare at him. "Fine."

"Fine."

"Anything else?"

"No."

"We'll just be going then." She stepped past him.

Harry followed. "Can't wait till next year, Weasley," he taunted as he went past.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Harry slipped into the passageway behind the statue of the humpbacked witch. He'd forgotten about Buckbeak till the Prophet had announced the Wizengamot had ruled against the hippogriff. Sometimes even the best lawyers money could buy couldn't stop hateful people. It had taken both he and Neville to corral Luna when she'd overheard Malfert gloating about the scheduled execution and that he'd asked his father if he could have the head mounted for his room. Harry had been inclined to let her pound the ponce, but had been afraid if he did she'd end up expelled. She was still serving detention three nights a week for her role in the events on the train back to school after the Christmas hols after all. That wasn't to say something bad wasn't going to befall the worm, but Harry had bigger concerns right now.

Luna was a wreck. Being the first of them to embrace Daphne when Ginny had become friends with her, Luna was very hurt by her words and actions when Harry had befriended Andrew and Daniel. But as strained as that relationship was, Hermione was killing her. He and Luna had had an awful lot to commiserate with together recently. The news about Buckbeak had been a heavy blow to an already devastated girl and Harry would be damned if he let Draco Fucking Malfoy win. He had a plan. He just needed an alibi; they both did.

"Wotcher, Harry," Tonks said, stepping into the open.

"Hey, Tonks." He greeted her with a tight hug. "Charlie," he said when she let him go.

Charlie shook his hand. "Mate, good to see you."

"You too, Charlie."

"So what's the deal, Harry?" Tonks asked.

Harry took a deep breath. "I've got a plan to save Buckbeak but I need an alibi."

Tonks stared at him. "You do realize you're talking to an auror, right?"

Harry returned her look. "Yep."

"You could get me fired for this."

"Until Mum gets Fudge sacked you could get a whole lot worse than fired for a lot of things right now."

She continued to glare at him. "What'd you have in mind?"

"Pretty simple really." When Harry was done explaining his plan Tonks and Charlie exchanged looks.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"Bones was pissed about it, but the law is law."

"So are you in or out?" Harry asked.

Tonks turned to him. "In."

"Cool." He handed them two phials. "You'll need these." Tonks took them from him. "See you tomorrow then."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Harry pushed his plate back. "Ready?" he asked.

Luna sighed. She'd barely eaten. "Yes."

"Might as well get it over with then."

"See you in the morning," Neville said.

"I still can't believe you messed up a Befuddlement Draught," Hermione said.

"We can't all be as perfect as you, Hermione," Harry retorted. He grabbed Luna by the hand and pulled her away before anyone could say anything else.

Professor Paddington was not fond of the dungeons and had moved potions to a classroom that, conveniently enough, was near Myrtle's bathroom on the first floor. He just hoped Tonks had managed to banish the overly friendly ghost for the night. "Do you trust me?" Harry hissed as they climbed the stairs?

Luna turned to him. "Of course I do, Harry."

"Come on then," he pulled her into Myrtle's toilet.

"About time," a perfect replica of Luna said. She quickly sealed the door. "Charlie's in the second stall." Harry was already tugging his robe off as he ducked into the first stall.

Luna stared at… _herself_. "Well, this is confusing."

"Wotcher, Luna," Tonks said, "What do you say I go to detention for you while you and Harry set Buckbeak free?" She held up a bag. "I brought you some different clothes." Luna cocked her head. A half second later a brilliant smile lit her face and she quickly started stripping out of her clothes.

"We're done," Charlie said.

"You can come out," Tonks answered.

Harry had barely stepped out of the stall when Luna hit him. Before he knew it she had planted her lips on his and kissed him soundly. "Thank you," she gushed, "thank you, thank you, thank you." She let him go, bouncing excitedly on her toes.

"I'll pretend I didn't see that," Charlie grumbled.

Tonks, smacked him. "It meant nothing and you know it."

"I said I'd pretend I didn't see it, didn't I?"

Harry gave himself a little shake. "I have got to stop coming in this toilet," he muttered. Tonks knocked Harry and then Luna on the head with her wand. Harry shuddered with the feeling of icy-cold that slid down his body. "Bugger," he gasped, "a bit of warning, Nymph."

Tonks, who was polyjuiced as Luna, grabbed Charlie, who was polyjuiced as Harry, and kissed him hard. "Keep calling me that and someone might see something you don't want them to, _little_ bro."

"That is not funny," Luna said.

"Disturbing, actually," Harry said. "And don't make me tell your mum I had to kill you."

Charlie threw the cloak at them. "Shut up and get going." Harry pulled the cloak over he and Luna.

Tonks glanced at the map. "We're clear." A wave of her wand opened the door and she and Charlie ducked out; heading for detention. Under the cloak, Harry and Luna went the other direction.

Practiced as the lot were at moving about under his invisibility cloak, Harry and Luna were quickly exiting the front doors and hurrying down to Hagrid's hut and the pen where Buckbeak was being kept chained up. For a second they just watched the beast as it slept. "Alright," Harry hissed. "He knows you so I'm going to stay back unless you need me. Hopefully you can just break the lock and he can fly away."

"Alright," Luna agreed.

"Just remember, you're only disillusioned, not invisible. Its dark and no one should be out, but try not to make any fast movements."

"I won't." She slipped out from under the cloak. Harry balled it up and waited.

They were upwind of the hippogriff and almost instantly it picked its head up. A second later it was on its feet. "Awrk!" it barked warningly.

"Shush," Luna said softly. "You know me. Remember, you took me flying once."

"Awrk," Buckbeak squawked again.

"Yes," Luna said. "I know you can't see me, but I promise it's me."

"Awrk."

"That's my friend. You can smell him, can't you?"

"Awrk."

"I promise, he won't hurt you. He's come to help me. We want to take that nasty chain off your leg." The hippogriff cocked its head before kicking its chained leg. "Yes. We'll take it off and you can fly away. I'll bet you miss flying, don't you." The hippogriff pulled hard at the chain. "You do," Luna soothed. "Do you think I might be able to open the gate and come closer?"

Despite being disillusioned, Buckbeak looked directly at her before bowing. "Oh, that's my smart, brave boy," she praised. She unlatched the gate and slipped in the pen. "Easy now, beautiful boy."

"Awrk," Buckbeak squawked.

"Shush," Luna said gently. "You need to be quiet so no one hears us. Can you be quiet for me?" Buckbeak bowed again. "Good boy." Luna edged closer, gently raising her hand to the hippogriff's beak. "There now, you see, it's just little old me." She slid her hand along his beak to scratch at his neck. Like some kind of giant pigeon, the hippogriff warbled happily. "Oh, you poor thing," Luna soothed. She took another moment to gently scratch at him. "Now, I'm going to see about this chain, is that alright?" Buckbeak nudged at her. "Good boy," she praised again. She moved to examine the cuff and the lock holding it.

Buckbeak's leg was raw from where the cuff had rubbed when he walked. He warbled softly. "Oh, you poor thing," she said gently. "Don't worry. I can do a healing spell once we get this off. "It won't be perfect, but it will hurt much less." Fortunately the lock was nothing more than an old padlock she was able to open with a simple Alohomora. Once freed of the cuff, she cast the promised healing charm. "There now," Luna said. She rubbed the tender skin gently. Buckbeak nuzzled his beak into her head. "I love you too, my beautiful friend." She stood and held his beak with both hands. "Now, I need you to listen very carefully. Can you do that?"

Buckbeak warbled.

"See how smart you are? I knew you would understand." Buckbeak warbled again. "Now, the bad people are going to be very angry you've gone. They're going to try and find you and if they do, they'll chain you up again so you need to make sure they don't. You need to fly away from here, as far away as you can. Do you think you can do that? I want you to fly till you can't possibly fly another second; and then, after you've rested, I want you to do that again. Can you do that for me?" Buckbeak tossed his head. "Oh, that's my smart boy!" Luna leaned forward and kissed him on the beak. "Now, one more thing, when you fly away, I want you to go by the front gate. There are two men there. I want you to make sure they see you. Can you do that as well?" Buckbeak snorted. "Yes, I know those foul creatures are there too, but this is very important. You don't have to stay, just make certain the men see you, alright?" Buckbeak warbled softly. "Good boy," Luna praised. "I knew you'd understand." She kissed his beak again. "Now, go quickly." She stepped back. "Go." Buckbeak reared, spread his wings and rushed forward.

As Harry and Luna made their way back to the castle he couldn't help but marvel at her. She had talked to Buckbeak as if he understood every word she said and damned if it didn't seem the beast actually had. "You're brilliant, you know."

She took his hand. "Thank you, Harry."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

The following morning, the school was once again abuzz. "I do so love seeing Draco in a snit," Daphne said.

"How do you tell when he isn't?" Harry asked.

Daphne tipped her head. "A fair point," she conceded.

"I wonder who did it?" Cedric asked.

Harry shrugged. "Don't look at me, I was in detention."

"An awful convenient excuse," Luna said.

Harry stared at her. He honestly couldn't tell if she was being serious or not. "Luna, you were in detention with me, remember?"

"Yes," she agreed. "It's lovely to, for once, have an airtight alibi, don't you agree." She winked at him.

Harry chuckled. "Luna, you're my kind of crazy."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Author's notes:

"I do so love seeing Draco in a snit." Me too, Daphne. Me too.

And, a day early. You're welcome.


	21. Chapter 21

Standard disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR. Except where I might use some song lyrics which I will call out at the time and give proper credit. Thank you JKR for letting us play with your toys.

I will continue to use the occasional song lyric in the story and will give credit at the time when needed.

This is the fourth book in my Slytherin Harry series. And I'm departing from reusing JKR's title because too much of the story has changed. I'll leave it up to all of you to decide just who the Blood Traitor's Daughter is. In my mind there is more than one candidate.

Book 1: Harry Potter and the Muggle's Daughter

Book 2: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Book 3: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Book 4: Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor's Daughter.

If you haven't read books 1-3 you won't know what's going on. But the bonus is you've got three completed books before you even get to this one!

And last, the disappointing bits.

 **Well, the site seems to be working much better now and I can once again post longer chapters. I'm sure you'll all be thrilled.**

This chapter is pretty heavy on song lyrics. I apologize now for it, but I put the entire lyrics in because they were important and if you don't know the song, you would be missing things. Credit will be given at the end.

* * *

 **HARRY POTTER AND THE BLOOD TRAITOR'S DAUGHTER**

 **CHAPTER XXI**

 **Zakynthos**

* * *

"So we're going with the premise Barty Crouch didn't commit suicide, he was murdered;" Remus asked, "by his son who supposedly died in Azkaban prison nine years ago?"

"I don't know how else to explain Harry's memory of his fight with the person who took he and Astoria," Amelia answered.

"But how?" Bill asked. "And where is his wife?"

Amelia spoke up. "Crouch Jr's involvement with Voldemort, the torture of Frank and Alice Longbottom, and subsequent conviction destroyed his parents. She was never of great health; always frail, her voice was very wispy due to the damage a lifetime of coughing had done to her vocal cords. She took ill again shortly after the trial and was thought to have died of a broken heart upon the son's death. Until I catch him, I can only guess, but I know Crouch Sr and his wife were granted a mercy visit when it became apparent the son was nearing death in Azkaban. If I had to bet, something happened during that visit."

"Polyjuice," Lily said, thinking aloud.

"Sorry?" Amelia asked.

"What?" Lily asked.

"You said polyjuice, Lils," Remus said.

"I did?"

He nodded. "Yep."

Lily glanced at the others. "Sorry, I was just thinking aloud."

Malala laughed. "Yes, we know. But, seeing as whenever you think aloud you tend to astound us, how about enlightening the rest of us of your euphony?"

Lily blushed. "Oh, well, I'm just hypothesizing, but we've been able to determine she was far more devastated than her husband. Amelia, you said you overheard her begging him to be lenient in sentencing the son. He threw the book at him instead. What if she believed she was dying, begged her husband to save their son, they went to that mercy visit and switched; the mother for the son? What if it wasn't the son who died in prison, but the mother polyjuiced as the son?"

Sirius cocked his head. "That's so insane it actually makes sense."

"So the father brings the son home, keeps him under house arrest till last fall when the son somehow breaks free of whatever his father is using to hold him, kills his father and makes it look like the father committed suicide?" Bill asked.

The group exchanged looks. "It's a reasonable theory," Amelia said. "We won't know for certain till we catch him, but it's a theory."

"Can't you exhume the body of the son, or mother, or whomever?" Malala asked.

Amelia shook her head. "There are some truly horrific things that can be done with a dead body. Wizards tend to cremate their dead as a precaution against that. All prisoners who die while incarcerated at Azkaban are cremated; no exceptions. One urn, containing a very small portion of the ashes is provided to surviving family. The rest is spread at sea. The only way to confirm the theory would be a confession. Provided we catch him and it really is the son."

"And you've assigned the case to Kingsley Shackelbolt?" Lily asked.

"Yes. He's my Head Auror. I've also assigned Tonks to him as her senior auror for the completion of her training. He's none too happy to be _baby-sitting_. He was also rather displeased with me for attempting to ransom Astoria for Harry. Nor did he appreciate the story we fed the Prophet regarding the tracking charms he supposedly placed on Harry. He covered for me. And he's keeping quiet about the fact we're letting people believe it was Pettigrew who initiated the attack, but he's really starting to ask questions. I'd like to bring him fully into our confidence."

"He's proved his loyalty to you so far," Lily said. "Things seem to be escalating. It would be good to know we have more people we can trust without reservation."

"Unless there are files I'm unaware of," Bill said, "which is entirely possible, he's clean. But I see no issues." The other's all nodded their agreement.

"We're going to need people like him," Remus said. "So it's probably time we started recruiting."

"How fully in is fully in?" David asked. "We're going to need soldiers, but soldiers don't always need to know absolutely everything."

"Agreed," Remus said. "But in this particular case, as he's partnered with Tonks, I would think he should be brought fully into the fold."

"I agree as well," Amelia said. "Him being my head auror, things are at a point I really need him to know everything."

"We should also consider what happens if we topple Fudge," Lily said. "We're going to want the new head of the DMLE on our side when Amelia moves into the Minister's office."

"Agreed," Anders said. "Lucius has people throughout the ministry. We would be foolish indeed to think we're going to outmaneuver him everywhere. He knows Fudge's position is precarious. We've seen more than one article in the paper quoting anonymous sources within the DMLE questioning Amelia's decisions recently. You can bet that is Lucius' work."

"I think we're agreed on bringing auror Shacklebolt into the order," Andromeda said. "But I'd like to discuss the elephant in the room before we consider closing things tonight. Anders, you particularly, I am loath to remind of this, but Death Eaters saved their most horrific crimes for those who somehow survived or embarrassed them. Whether Astoria was a specific target or randomly taken, she is now in grave danger till her attacker is caught. Only his death will stop him coming after her.

"She's already been given a ward and portkey bracelet," Bill said. "I'd love to see her trained to apparate, but I just don't see how she'll possibly manage it. The youth brigade has been at it for better than two months and Hermione is the only one who's even managed to flicker yet. So beyond keeping an extra eye on her, I don't know what else we can do."

"She should be reasonably safe at school," Sirius said. "She's not allowed off grounds yet. Fudge posting dementors to the school seems to have rattled the old man enough that he actually appears to have stepped up security. Before that, practically anyone could have just wandered in. We're only managing it because we know about the secret passages. We'll have to step up our precautions when any of them are off grounds, but short of pulling them from the school I think we're doing just about everything we can."

"Let's remember Crouch Jr cut a hole in the wards on platform 9 3/4s," Remus pointed out.

"I'm not forgetting it," Sirius said. "But those wards are not the wards at the school."

Lily focused on Bill. "You examined the wards at the platform. Do you think this person is good enough to get past the wards at the school?"

Bill shrugged. "Dumbledore hasn't got them at full lock down yet, so it's possible. The probability of doing it without alerting him though is slim and none; it'd take me months.

"My wife and I have discussed things," Ander's said. "For the moment we feel comfortable with leaving her at the school. If things change… I only know a plan is in place."

The others nodded. "Glad to hear it," Bill said.

"So we're reasonably confident in their safety," Andromeda said. "Do we have any progress to report on the little gift Anders presented us?" Lily smiled at her, appreciative of her not saying the name Rauðskinna in the house.

"There's one thing that occurred to me about the Resurrection Ritual we found," Ted said.

The others leaned forward. "Go on," Lily said.

"Well, magical folk almost always cremate their dead. But that isn't the case with non-magicals right?"

"Aww," Bill groaned. "Bloody idiots we are."

"We'll be rectifying this situation immediately, yes?" Amelia said pointedly.

"What do you mean rectifying?" Malala asked. "Surely you aren't suggesting we desecrate his grave."

"Malala," Anders said, "the Resurrection Ritual uses the bone of the father. Whatever we can do to prevent this animal regaining his full powers we must. Even if that means desecrating a grave."

"But—"

"Malala," Bill said, "it's not any different than touring the pyramids of Egypt. And you've done that."

She made to protest but stopped. "No, I suppose it isn't any different, is it?"

"Afraid not."

"Right," she said. "Carry on then."

"The question is," Lily said, "do we just remove the bones or do we replace them with something else?"

The others turned to Anders again. "What happens if he performs the ritual with the wrong ingredients?" Sirius asked.

"I hadn't considered it," Anders said. "I'll have to research it."

"Well, I guess that's your top priority," Lily said.

"I'll start first thing tomorrow." The others nodded and in the lull Remus stepped forward. "I have something, that while it may not seem all that important, I think is a concern." The others focused on him. "I'm not going to rehash all the disagreements they've had since term started. And things may actually be moving in a positive direction there; I've seen Harry and Daphne talking a number of times in the last few weeks. I'm just very concerned they're cracking under the stress of everything. It helps that quidditch is finished for the year, but Hermione, Luna and Daphne still have detention three nights a week, they all train in the mornings, go to classes, revise, study with me for the Patronus Charm or apparation lessons, practice their martial arts and have lessons with Andromeda. This says nothing of the knowledge they carry, nor for what happened with Harry and Astoria. All of them should be capable of apparating, but they're not getting it. Ginny is proof they should be able to cast the Patronus Charm, but since getting it once she is only getting mist again. I'm not even sure of what I'm trying to say, but I'm worried. Despite everything they've accomplished, the fact remains the oldest of them is only fourteen."

Lily focused on Andromeda. "What do you think?"

"I do agree with Remus and believe there may have been a thawing between Harry and Daphne in the last few weeks. That hasn't translated to a thawing between Hermione and any of the others. They are stressed and I fear we are simply asking too much of them right now."

"What about a vacation?" Sirius asked. "Easter break is coming. What do you say we bring them home and haul them somewhere warm and sandy for the week? No classes or training or anything else, just let them be kids."

"Where?" Malala asked.

Sirius grinned. "I've got just the place."

"Is it safe?" Lily asked.

"Private, warded, plenty of space for all of us. Bill and I can go make sure everything's up to snuff; trust me."

"Zakynthos?" Andromeda asked.

"Yep."

She smiled. "Perfect."

* * *

Bill stepped next to Lily on the porch, leaning with his elbows on the rail. "Alright?" he asked. He could tell she was struggling for control and it was a long time before she answered.

"What kind of mother wishes her son had just killed him?"

Bill frowned. "I suppose, the kind who knows the bastard will come after her son again."

Again Lily didn't answer for a long time. "And the kind who's mad at her son for not killing him when he had the chance?"

Bill turned to her but she continued to stare out into the night. "The kind who should probably follow her own advice and stop bottling things up," he said.

She turned to him. "I'm sick, Bill."

"I know." She stared up at him for a few seconds before turning and walking away.

* * *

"David, Mali," Andromeda asked, "may I speak with you privately?"

They exchanged looks. "Certainly," Malala said. "Will Hermione's room work?"

"I should think so."

"Please, then," David said. The three made their way up the stairs past Harry's room to their daughter's. David held the door and quietly closed it behind him.

"Is there something wrong, Andi?" Malala asked.

"Yes and no, Mali."

"Is it to do with Hermione?" David asked.

"Please, Andi," Malala said, "don't tell us about keeping confidences. If there is something wrong with our daughter tell us."

Andromeda sighed. "Luckily, I only have suppositions to go on."

"You think Hermione is gay, don't you?" Malala asked.

Andromeda gave her a weak smile. "I do."

Malala sat down on the bed. "I've suspected she was gay since she was four."

David looked at her sharply. "You didn't tell me that."

She reached for his hand. "I knew you'd love her no matter what, so what was the point in worrying you?"

"I'm your husband. I'm supposed to help carry your burdens, not have you hide them from me."

Malala bowed her head. "You're right. I'm sorry."

He raised her chin. "We can talk later. Let's deal with Hermione right now."

Malala pulled his hand to her lips and kissed it. "Thank you." They turned to Andromeda again. "Do you think we should talk to her?"

Andromeda sighed. "I don't know what the answer is. But if you remember Christmas, Hermione and Luna were very close. And there was the song Harry picked for Hermione. That song is a rather apt description of Luna. I believe he picked it to encourage Hermione to pursue a relationship with Luna. I honestly believe Hermione and Luna were spiraling towards each other right up to the moment Harry befriended those two boys. Harry is now upset with Hermione. Hermione also is barely speaking with Daphne or Luna."

"You think she's scared of how people will treat her if she is gay?" David asked.

"I do. As I said, I don't know what the answer is. Speaking with her could help, or it could simply upset her more."

David took a deep breath and blew it out. "Thank you, Andi. I'm not sure what the answer is either, but we've been very worried about her. This fight with Harry, they've never had issues like this before."

"Yes, well, if I'm correct, then Harry is doubly angry with Hermione for what he sees as her hypocritical treatment of Ginny."

"You mean he sees Hermione pushing Luna away as being the same as Ginny pushing him away and he's taking Luna's side?" Mali asked.

"Pretty much exactly."

Malala sighed. "They never tell you about these things when they turn you free from hospital with them, do they?"

Andromeda laughed softly. "No, they most certainly do not."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Wedged into the corner, his head tipped back against the wall, Harry sat with his eyes closed and let his wolf flow. With everything on his plate, he would be the first to admit he'd let his training slip. Of course he had mitigating circumstances going begging for why he'd yet to fully become one with his form. At one point, after he'd been bitten, he'd gone months without transforming. He'd had to basically start over with acclimating his body to the change. Of course he could have kept working on acclimating to a heightened sense of smell and sound during that time… But he was tired; the ache in his body hadn't fully faded till early November, and the headache slamming his mind with the general noise and stench of the world would give him was just too much to take.

Now though, his excuses and mitigating circumstances were ringing hollow. What it came down to was his experience with Astoria and being taken hadn't left him unaffected. He found he had a growing aversion to crowds and did everything he could to place his back to the wall. He stopped sitting in the front row during class, needing to know there was no one behind him to be able to concentrate. Meals in the Great Hall were torture. Quidditch matches had become exercises in self-control that left him near paralyzed with fear because he would be so exposed. Thankfully the run of play was enough to distract him once the match started, but getting to the quaffle throw was cruel agony.

He needed to do something and a heightened sense of smell and hearing went a long way toward calming his nerves and restoring his peace of mind. The man's stench was seared into his scent memory and chances were, if he tired to come after him again, Harry would smell him long before he saw him. His excuses had become the very motivation Harry needed and he was determined to fully become one with his wolf by the time school let out for the year.

It seemed a better solution than Astoria had found. She had basically become an extended appendage to Harry, only letting him out of her sight when she was forced to. Harry didn't really mind; he was happy to play big brother to her, but he could have done without getting yelled at when he refused to give up going to Hogsmeade for the day. She had even begged him to ride in her carriage from the school to the station today, and she and her friends were in the very next compartment on the train. Frankly, he would have been surprised if she and her friends hadn't just now opened the door of his compartment and joined them.

"Harry," Hermione said, " we're here."

Without opening his eyes he reached out and took Astoria's hand. "I know. I want to wait till the platform clears."

"Alright," she agreed.

The group went back to quiet conversation while Harry went back to acclimating. Something else he'd discovered as he adjusted to his heightened sense of smell was how people's scents changed with changes in circumstance. For instance, Ginny had suddenly become more pungent to him than normal. She never said a word, and visually the clues were near impossible to detect, but her scent changed when he paid attention to Astoria. He'd only done it a few times to confirm the suspicion, but it was the biggest clue he had to the fact she didn't like it.

"Are we ready?" Daphne asked.

"Not yet," Harry said.

"The train is empty, Harry."

"The platform isn't."

"How can you possibly know that?"

"Not now."

"Not now, what?"

"I'll explain later."

Daphne huffed and crossed her arms. "You're a pain, Harry. Honestly, what are we waiting for?"

"You try being kidnapped and see how you like it." An uncomfortable silence settled on the group.

"I'm sorry, Harry," Daphne said after a few moments.

"It's fine, Daphne. I told Sirius we'd wait on the train for a while, but you don't have to wait if you don't want."

"No, we stick together."

"Cool." The others went back to talking and Harry went back to listening. About five minutes later he asked. "Is the platform clear?"

"Mostly," Neville answered.

Harry opened his eyes and stood. "Come on then."

Harry stopped and scanned the platform before stepping off the train. There were only two families besides those waiting for him and his friends. One of them was Cedric and his father. The older boy was holding a young girl of about four in his arms. The other was a first-year Ravenclaw and they were just heading for the portal to the Muggle side of the station. Harry closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. His mind was assaulted with a million scents; burning coal, grease and steam the heaviest. The one scent he was looking for wasn't there though. He opened his eyes and jumped down. Astoria quickly followed, grabbing his hand the second she was on the platform. Ginny's scent spiked again. Harry suppressed a surge of irritation. She had no reason to be jealous. He'd been perfectly clear his hand was hers for the taking any time she chose to do so.

Of course, if the speculative look Astoria's parents were giving them as they approached was anything to go by he was going to need to speak with them sooner as opposed to later. It wasn't till they were about ten steps from them that Astoria let go of his hand and ran to her parents. It had only been a week since she'd seen him, but Mrs Tonks swooped down on him. "Hello, my Love."

Harry hugged her tightly. "Hello, Mrs Tonks." Greetings were quickly made all around and Harry eventually found himself faced with Marcus.

The older boy held hard eyes on him. "Lord Potter."

Harry quirked an eye. "S'up, Marcus?"

Marcus laughed and slugged him in the shoulder. "How's it going, Runt?"

Harry rolled his shoulder. Marcus really was part gorilla. "Well I'm glad I won't need that arm till next February. But other than that, pretty good."

Marcus laughed again. "I knew I liked you, Potter."

"Speak for yourself. I still have nightmares about you."

Marcus smirked and nodded towards Cedric and his father. "Those nightmares have anything to do with the number you lot did on the Puffs a few weeks ago?"

Harry smirked. "Maybe."

"Glad something I taught you stuck."

"Believe me, I'm pretty sure I can remember every word you ever said."

Marcus chuckled before turning serious and sticking his hand out. "Thank you, Harry. I don't think I have to tell you how important Astoria is to Daphne. What you did, I can't tell you how grateful I am."

Harry took his hand, trying not to wince with Marcus' grip. "You'd have done the same, yeah?"

"I'd like to think so, Harry."

"You would have," Harry said confidently. "After all, you already did once, didn't you?" Marcus frowned. "Ginny, Malfoy, knee to the family jewels, ring a bell?"

Marcus nodded. "Maybe I did," he said.

"Maybe nothing." Harry let his hand go.

Cedric took that as his cue to step in. "Excuse me, Harry." Harry turned to him. The little girl shyly hid behind him clinging to his leg. "I just wanted to introduce you to my father." Cedric's dad stepped in. "Dad, Harry Potter. Harry, my father."

Harry shook the offered hand. "Nice to meet you, Sir."

"It's good to meet you, Harry. Cedric has good things to say about you."

"Cedric has been a good friend to me," Harry answered. He let the man's hand go and turned slightly. "Cedric, Sir, my godfather, Sirius Black. Sirius, Cedric Diggory and his father."

Sirius reached for Mr Diggory's hand. "We've met before, Harry," Sirius said. "Amos has been a strong supporter of Director Bones. Good to see you again, Amos."

"Thank you, Lord Black," Amos said. "It is good to see you again as well and make acquaintance with your ward."

"Please, Amos, call me Sirius. And you wouldn't be so pleased to make acquaintance with my ward if you knew him half as well as I do." Harry scowled at him. "How's that new bride of yours?"

Amos chuckled. "I'll say the same of my son, Sirius. And that new bride isn't so new. We just recently celebrated our sixth anniversary."

"That long already, I guess congratulations are in order."

"Thank you, Sirius."

Sirius let his hand go and turned to Cedric. "I'm sure you can't be half as bad as Harry. Nice to meet you Cedric."

Cedric shook his hand. "Thank you, Lord Black."

"I understand my godson has been teaching you hand to hand combat."

Cedric chuckled ruefully. "If you can call beating me black and blue teaching me, then yes, I've recently begun training with him."

Sirius chuckled as well. "Well, whenever his head gets too big invite him to spare for a while with Hermione. She's exceptionally skilled at deflating his ego."

"I'll remember that," Cedric laughed. The little girl was poking her head out, looking up at Harry curiously so he squatted down in front of her.

"Hi," he said. "I'm Harry. What's your name?"

She tipped her head, deciding if she was going to talk to him. Cedric squatted down as well. "It's ok, Love," he said, "Harry's my friend." She considered him another second. Harry smiled encouragingly. "Go ahead, you can tell him."

"I'm, Samantha, and I'm five!" She held her hand out with five fingers up.

"Is that so?" Harry asked.

"Yes. How old are you?"

Harry grinned. "I'm thirteen. Do you know how many that is?"

Samantha frowned. "Silly, I don't have that many fingers."

"I like her," Daphne said quietly to Ginny. Samantha was quite engaged with Harry now and he seemed more than happy to indulge her. Ginny couldn't help smiling.

Eventually though goodbyes were made all around and the six friends, Sirius, Bill, Tonks and Charlie were on their way to the airport.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Ginny settled in beside Daphne in bed and tried to clear her mind. Despite sleeping most of the way, the trip from England to Zakynthos had been… difficult. On the one hand she had been quite excited for it. On the other, she was quite concerned about the Muggle contraption. Wizards might use trains, cars, busses and boats, but they didn't use planes. Certainly not that she'd ever heard tell, and sure enough, the pilot, copilot and flight attendant were all Muggles. But the hardest part had been being reminded of her dad and his fascination with all things Muggle. He had always wanted to know what it was that kept an airplane in the air and would have been enthralled with every detail of the aircraft. For a number of reasons, she had been quite glad to have Bill there. When it was all said and done though, all but about the first and last ten minutes of the ride were rather boring.

The beach house, if one could call a complex of seven, bungalow style houses around a large courtyard, high on the cliff, with steps leading down to a private cove with pristine white sand spilling into equally pristine blue waters, a beach house, was amazing. Six of the bungalows were private quarters; each housing two bedrooms a luxurious bath and sitting areas. The seventh was a communal kitchen, dining and gathering area. Each of the buildings was painted bright colours spanning the spectrum of the rainbow. She was in the red bungalow with Bill, Charlie and Daphne. Hermione and her parents were in the orange one. Sirius and Neville were in the yellow. Harry, his mum and Remus had the green. Tonks, Luna and Mr and Mrs Tonks were in the blue. Ms Nigel, Joe and Harmony, the pilot, copilot and flight attendant were in the violet. The kitchen was housed in a sea-blue bungalow.

The whole experience so far was of luxury beyond luxury. That Sirius owned this place and hadn't even been here, other than to get it ready for this trip, since being released from his wrongful imprisonment was almost too much for her to take. Sirius never flaunted his wealth, but it was hard to stomach he had so much when she had grown up with so little. Sirius was a Lord who had been given every advantage in life simply by virtue of who he'd been born to. Daphne, Harry, Neville, they carried the same advantages. Neville never flaunted his status and Harry's past certainly kept him humble, but she couldn't deny Daphne sometimes lived up to the nickname Harry had given her. Daphne never said a word about Ginny's secondhand robes or clothes, but would also never be caught dead in them herself. She was Posh. It was a good thing Marcus was born to wealth as well because Daphne very much enjoyed spending money. Ginny was certain her friend had spent more on their first visit to Hogsmeade than she had all year.

But while her friend was from a wealthy family, she was generous towards her. Ginny routinely found small gifts like hair clips and pretty quills that Daphne had left on her bed. It was curious though. Over the summer, when she had joined Daphne in Diagon Alley, they had invariably argued about Ginny paying for her meal. Ginny rarely won those arguments. But Daphne had never once tried to pay when the six of them had dined in Hogsmeade. Harry or Neville paid every time. Ginny had tried to pay them back but they simply refused. Daphne had looked at her like she was daft when she'd complained about it. As far as Daphne was concerned if she was with a boy, even if he wasn't Marcus, he was expected to treat her. It was one of the few things she really actually disliked about her friend. Ginny let out a huff of exasperation. She would never spirit walk if she kept this up. She took a few more breaths and forced everything but her wolf from her mind.

* * *

Their first morning on Zakynthos brought a jubilant, "Who wants to go shopping?" from Harry's mum.

"Me!" Hermione answered quickly.

"I'm in," Tonks said.

"Oh, pick me, pick me!" Malala cried, bouncing on her toes.

"May I come?" Daphne asked.

"Of course you can," Mrs Tonks said. "Ginny, Luna?" she asked.

"I'll come," Ginny agreed.

Luna glanced at Harry. "What are you doing?"

"Plunking my arse on the beach and not moving," he answered. He was already in swim trunks and, as it was quite warm, had ditched his shirt as well

"I think I shall stay."

"Oh come on, Luna," Malala chided. "It'll be fun. Surely you could use a new swim costume."

Luna smiled pleasantly at her. "I'd really rather not. But thank you for the invitation."

"If you're certain."

"I am."

"Anyone else?" Lily asked.

"I wouldn't mind seeing a bit of the town," Remus said. "If you ladies can tolerate having a male along that is."

Lily grinned. "Well of course we can. We'll need someone to carry our packages after all."

Harry snorted. "You better take Sirius, Bill and Mr Granger with you too."

"Oi!" Bill complained. "If I'm going, Charlie has to come. He's the one dating one of them."

"Traitor," Charlie muttered. The others laughed.

"Seriously," Bill said, "I've some things to discuss with Remus so I'll go."

"Thank Merlin," Charlie sighed. "I owe you one, Bro."

In the end, it was Bill, Remus, and Mr Tonks who ended up accompanying the ladies into Zakynthos city. Ms Nigel, Harmony and Joe had also joined them.

"Sirius?" Harry asked after seeing the group off.

"What's up, Pup."

"Do Ms Nigel and the others know about magic?"

Sirius shook his head exasperatedly. "You don't miss a thing, do you?"

"But how? I mean I know Director Bones can issue waivers and such, but aren't we getting spread a bit thin?"

"Relax, Pup. They all knew about magic before I hired them."

"They did?"

"Joe and Harmony had older brothers who went to Hogwarts. They were a couple years ahead of your mum and me. Stephanie had a younger sister who was friends with your mum."

"Oh," Harry said. He frowned. "How come you haven't brought any of them into the Order?"

Sirius sighed. "I wish I could, Pup."

"Why can't you? If she was friends with my mum, wouldn't she like to know mum…" Harry trailed off. "They're all dead, aren't they?"

"Yes."

"Voldemort?"

"Him or his Death Eaters."

"How much do they know?"

"Enough that they're loyalty is ensured."

Harry stared off into space. "Shit."

"You got that right, Pup."

* * *

"Are you sure?" Ginny asked. She and the girls had spent the entire first day shopping but had decided on the beach today. Tonks had just stripped of her tank and shorts in preparation for absorbing as many rays as was humanly possible. Being one of the red hair though, Ginny burnt faster than you could ruin a batch of biscuits. She wouldn't dare go out in the sun without a Sunblock Charm and had learned the hard way to have them done multiple times throughout the day.

"Trust me," Tonks said. She dug in her bag and produced a bottle of lotion. She winked at Ginny, Daphne, Hermione and Luna. "Oi, Weasley!" she called.

Charlie tossed Neville aside and clamped Harry in a headlock. Harry tried kneeing him in the thigh, but Charlie seemed not to notice. "What?" he shouted. Tonks held the bottle up in the air. "Be right there!" Charlie bodily picked Harry up and threw him into the water before splashing his way out of the surf and up the beach.

"Apparently one simply needs to be three times Harry's size to beat him," Daphne said.

"Believe me," Tonks said, "That man is impossible to move if he doesn't want to." She lay down on her stomach. "Now watch and learn my pretties… Don't get sand on my towel," she warned as Charlie drew near.

"Yeah, yeah." He dropped to his knees at her side, grabbed the bottle, opened it and squirted a large dollop on her back. He then proceeded to spread it on her back and massage it into her skin. Harry came up with Neville in tow and flopped down

"Muggle suntan lotion, girls. Way better than any old Sunblock Charm. Also, improperly used unless applied by a man's hands."

Luna abruptly climbed to her feet. "Some people might prefer a woman applying it you know," she snapped and stormed off.

"Aww hell," Harry muttered.

"Luna!" Tonks called.

Luna started running. "I don't want to talk to you!"

Harry climbed to his feet, focusing on Daphne. "Guess you know why she won't talk to you now." He took off at a jog after Luna.

Tonks pushed herself up. "Harry, wait!" She hurried to catch up with him. "I'm coming with you," she said grabbing his arm.

Harry turned back to her. "It's fine, Tonks. I know you didn't mean anything by it."

"Yeah, but obviously she doesn't. I need to make sure she knows I'm cool with it."

"Look, I'll tell her that, but there's more going on than you know. Let me talk to her first alright?"

"What do you mean more than I know."

"I can't tell you. Just let me talk to her for a while first."

"You're sure."

Harry pulled her into a tight hug. "Trust me, Sis."

Charlie stared after them, slowly turning on the others. "What just happened?"

"No wonder he was so mad at me," Daphne whispered. She turned on Ginny. "Why didn't you say something?"

"I didn't know!"

"Then how did Harry know?"

"How should I know!"

"He pays attention," Neville said. "He always pays attention. He studies people like Hermione studies books."

"Someone want to explain what you're talking about?" Charlie asked.

Tonks rejoined them, flopping down on her towel again. "Luna's gay, ya big lug," she said.

"Ahh," Charlie said. He frowned. "And she went off on you because…?"

"Because I said only a man could properly apply suntan lotion."

"Ahh, got it… Still, never seen her go off like that."

"Harry said there was more going on than I knew."

"I told you," Neville said. "Harry pays attention. Why do you think he's paid so much attention to her lately?"

Luckily for Harry, there weren't very many places Luna could go. There were also her footprints in the sand to follow. They led to the stairs up to the bungalows so that's where he went. "Where'd she go?" he asked on entering the courtyard. Remus pointed to the bungalow he, Harry and his mum were in. "Thanks," Harry said.

"Is something wrong, Harry?" Mum asked.

"When isn't something wrong?" he muttered, marching past.

"Harry—"

"Not now, Mum." Harry closed the door and locked it. Luna wasn't in the sitting area. The door of the toilet was open. That left one of two rooms.

Luna looked up when Harry entered. "I thought you'd follow me," she sniffed.

Harry walked over and sat down on the bed beside her. He wrapped an arm around her and she leaned her head on his shoulder. "Tonks didn't mean anything by it," he said. "She's cool with people who are gay."

Luna sniffed. "Promise?"

He gave her a squeeze. "Promise." They fell silent and Harry tipped his head back against the wall. It really was his luck to be alone on a bed with a girl he had zero interest in. For the love of the goddess she was in a bloody damn tankini, he was wearing nothing but swim trunks, and nothing; zip, nadda, nyet, you get the picture.

"It really is rather sad we've not fallen in love with each other, isn't it?" Luna asked.

Harry shook his head. "Are you sure you're not a Legilimens?"

"She won't even talk to me," Luna whispered.

Harry sighed. "I know."

"Sometimes it's all I can do to stop myself from strangling her. I honestly don't know how you've withstood it."

Harry chuckled softly. "Believe me, Luna, there are days… There are days."

* * *

Dinner their third night saw Charlie rise from his place at the table. "Can I have your attention please?" Everyone stilled and focused on him. Harry noted Mrs Tonks was holding her breath. "Tonks and I have an announcement to make."

"We're engaged!" Tonks burst, holding her hand up.

"Let me see!"

"Brilliant!

"I don't believe it."

"Congratulations, Bro."

"Thanks, Bill."

"Welcome to the family, Son," Mr Tonks said.

It took a while, but eventually the excitement died down to just below boisterous. The one person who hadn't said anything yet was Mrs Tonks. "Mum?" Tonks asked. "Are you alright?" Everyone stilled. Mrs Tonks pursed her lips at her daughter. "Mum?"

Mrs Tonks grinned broadly. "It's about bloody damn time!" She grabbed Tonks and hugged her tightly before turning on Charlie. "Honestly, making me wait all this time. I should box your ears, young man."

Charlie grinned sheepishly. "Yes, Ma'am."

"Oh, none of that now. Mum will do just fine."

"Yes, Mum," Charlie said dutifully.

She stepped to him, hugging him tightly. "You've made me very happy, Charlie," she whispered.

Charlie lifted her clean off the floor. "Thanks, Mum."

Lily slipped out behind Ginny, quietly following her down the stairs towards the beach, she stopped on a landing some thirty steps above her. Ginny had stopped on a lower landing and was watching her oldest brother. Bill had walked to the edge of the water and was just staring out into the night. Quietly Lily descended to within a few steps of Ginny. She half turned. "Alright, Ginny?" Ginny turned fully to face her. "Not who you expected?" she asked.

"No." Ginny turned back to watching Bill.

Lily stepped next to her. "You should go talk to him."

"Why are you so nice to me?"

"Why shouldn't I be nice to you?"

"I've never done anything to her and my own mother hates me. Yet, after everything I've done to your son, you treat me better than she ever has."

Lily reached for Ginny, turning the girl to face her. "Someone once tried to enslave me, Ginny. He was happy to see my husband murdered to have me. He was happy to see my son murdered. Your choice on whom you are with will always be yours and I will never judge you for it. Harry has made clear what he wants. To the best of your ability I believe you have been truthful with him in that you are not ready for what he wants; with him or anyone else. You may never be ready, and even if you are it may not be Harry you choose. Certainly, for Harry, I hope things work out the way he wishes. But I can ask nothing more of you. As long as you continue to be truthful with him, I have no reason to be angry with you.

"Honestly, Ginny, what you've been through, I can only imagine how horrible it was. To be betrayed as you were, a person does not just wake up one day and find everything is fine. The strength you've showed over the last year, I'm in awe of, Ginny. And I have to tell you, watching you, has helped me to let go of some of the anger I have towards my sister."

Ginny stared up at her. "I wish you were my mother." She stepped past, descending the remaining steps to the beach and moved to join her brother.

Lily watched him turn as she approached. She stopped for a second till he opened his arms and then ran the last few steps into his embrace. "I'd like that, Ginny," she said quietly before turning and climbing back to compound.

* * *

Harry sprawled on his back on the beach. The sun pounding down on him felt like it was recharging his very soul. For the first time since being bitten he felt strong again. There had been some rough moments, but the trip had been exactly what he needed. Hermione was still driving him insane; Ginny too. But Daphne and Luna were talking again so at least one really good thing seemed to have come of the trip. Speaking of Ginny, his nose twitched with her familiar scent. His one concession to training of any sort had been continuing to acclimate to his wolf-sense. Zakynthos had been very good for that because the sea was the strongest scent there and he quite enjoyed it. It was far preferable to the mass of bodies roaming Hogwarts. He strained his ears and slowly began counting, reaching thirty before the sound of sand being kicked touched his ears and it was another twenty seconds before she spoke.

"Want some company?"

Without opening his eyes Harry reached out and flipped his notebook closed. "If you want."

Ginny spread her towel and settled in place. It was a while before either of them spoke. "Is that your song-book?" she asked.

"Yes."

"What do you write about?"

Harry hesitated. He'd been hoping for a stress free day. Unfortunately anything that involved her was stressful these days. "Mostly just my feelings."

"Feelings about what?" she ventured.

"You."

"Me?"

"Everything I write is about you, Ginny."

She was silent for a long time and Harry forced himself to wait her out. He was actually getting quite good at it. "Why not Astoria?" she blurted. Harry didn't react. "I mean let's be honest, you've already said you think she's pretty." Forgetting his eyes were closed, Ginny motioned to her face. "She doesn't have this nasty scar. She's from a wealthy family and, since… well, since she was taken, you've doted on her."

Harry finally opened his eyes. Locking gazes, he just watched her for a few seconds. When she didn't look away he reached across and placed his hand on hers. For a few seconds he allowed himself to actually feel the contact between them, rubbing his thumb on hers, before pulling back. "That's why."

Ginny continued to hold his eyes. "Because your hand tingles when you touch me?"

"Because she's not you, Ginny. I could probably give you a million reasons, but that's what it comes down to. She's – Not – You."

"That's a bit of a dodge, don't you think?"

Harry shrugged. "Why does anyone choose the person they do, Ginny?"

"Is it so hard to give me one concrete reason?"

"Three letters, Ginny," he countered. "That's what you've given me since Riddle took you. Meanwhile, not counting this conversation, how many times have I spilled my guts to you? Why is it so hard to accept my thoughts for you are only stronger than before everything happened?"

"That's the problem, Harry; or at least one of them. I can't understand why you care. Why wouldn't you prefer Astoria? She's never done a thing to you. She doesn't have a hideous scar. Her head isn't a mess. She's from a wealthy family. I don't understand why you'd want to be with me over her."

Harry took a breath and sat up. "Astoria has no fire, Ginny. Her biggest ambition is to marry well; manage a house and play the role of dutiful wife. Forget taking Marcus' head off with a behind the back shot, she's terrified of simply flying. You want to play for the Harpies. I think it'd be brilliant to test myself against you. It'd be even better to play _for_ England _with_ you. You want to be a curse-breaker. I think that could be amazing; imagine the team we could make. I'll bet we could find Camelot and maybe even Avalon. Astoria will likely never break a single school rule. You broke pretty much all of them your first year. She was kidnapped. But instead of making certain the next person to try wishes they'd just killed themselves she clings to me like I'm a knight in shining armor. You though, you've made yourself into the baddest ass witch in the school and you're a damn third-year. If I wanted an arm ornament, then yeah, I guess maybe I should have agreed when her father tried to betroth her to me last summer; but I don't. I want a witch who can stand at my side trading spells with a dozen Dark Wizards and if I fall I can trust she'll save my ass."

Ginny cocked her head, a frown on her face. "What do you mean he tried to betroth her to you?"

Harry lay back down and closed his eyes. "Just what I said." After a few seconds of her not answering he opened his eyes again. Ginny had a noticeable edge about her that hadn't been there before. Apparently he was reading the change in her scent accurately. "Nice to know that bothers you," he said and closed his eyes again.

It was a very long time before Ginny said anything. "Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"You scare me."

Harry shifted, trying to get comfortable again. "I guess we're even then."

* * *

"A betrothal?" Ginny asked.

Daphne stared back at Ginny. "Please don't hate me."

Ginny gave her a look. "Are you daft? Of course I don't hate you."

Daphne studied Ginny. "You're not angry at all?"

"Of course not. I'm perfectly capable of distinguishing you from your father."

Daphne considered. "Are you angry with him?"

Ginny tipped her head. "Your father, or Harry?"

Daphne shrugged. "Either… Both."

Ginny thought about it for a few moments. "I think, maybe, I'm simply curious as to why he chose now to reveal it to me."

"I have often wondered why he hadn't told you. If I had to guess as to why he did so now, I would say he felt it would be to his advantage to do so."

Ginny thought for a second. "Yes, it was."

* * *

"Harry," Daphne said, "You really do have the most amazing voice." Harry blushed and ducked his head. He liked singing but honestly didn't understand just why everyone thought he had such a great voice. He thought his mum had a nice voice, but no one ever seemed to want her to sing but him.

"Will you play something of yours for us?" Mum asked. The group fell silent while Harry absently picked at his guitar. After a minute he moved into the opening chords.

"Catch your breath,

Hit the wall,

Scream out loud,

As you start to crawl

Back in your cage

The only place

Where they will

Leave you alone.

'Cause the weak will

Seek the weaker til they've broken them.

Could you get it back again?

Would it be the same?

Fulfillment to their lack of strength at your expense,

Left you with no defense;

They tore it down.

And I have felt the same as you,

I've felt the same as you,

I've felt the same.

Locked inside

The only place

Where you feel sheltered,

Where you feel safe.

You lost yourself

In your search to find

Something else to hide behind.

The fearful always preyed upon your confidence.

Did they see the consequence,

when they pushed you around?

The arrogant build kingdoms made of the different ones,

Breaking them 'til they've become just another crown.

And I have felt the same as you,

I've felt the same as you,

I've felt the same.

Refuse to feel anything at all,

Refuse to slip,

Refuse to fall.

Can't be weak,

Can't stand still,

You watch your back 'cause no one will.

You don't know why they had to go this far,

Traded your worth for these scars,

For your only company.

And don't believe the lies

That they have told to you. Not one word was true

you're alright, you're alright, you're alright.

And I have felt the same as you,

I've felt the same as you,

I've felt the same."

When he was finished, Harry sat with his head bowed; afraid to look up in the silence that followed.

"Does the song have a name, Harry?" Ginny asked.

Harry took a breath before picking his head up and focusing on her. "Ginny," he answered. She swallowed. Harry kept his eyes locked with hers. "Told you."

"It's beautiful," she whispered.

Harry gave her a small smile. "Thanks." He stood and headed for the stairs.

Daphne closed the door of their bedroom. Ginny sat on the bed, waiting for the inevitable. "Tell me you don't care about him." Ginny said nothing. "I don't understand you, Ginny. It would be one thing if you didn't like him, but you do. You don't even seem upset about the whole fate aspect of it anymore."

"I don't know what I am, Daphne. And until I do, I can't be with him."

Daphne shook her head. "He bleeds, Ginny… And you keep cutting him."

Ginny cringed. "I know."

* * *

Hermione couldn't remember the last time she had really had a lie-in. Even the one day a week they didn't get up to train she was up by seven. Having an entire week to sleep as late as she liked, well, her body didn't quite know what to do with it. She'd woken early yesterday and again today. Instead of trying to go back to sleep she decided to get up and go down to the beach to watch the sun come up. Quiet as she could she climbed out of bed, dressed, made a quick trip to the loo and slipped out the door. She hurried to the kitchen where she grabbed a bottled of juice and a granola bar before heading for the stairs to the beach. Hitting the sand, she was surprised to see Harry already sitting in the middle of the beach. She hesitated; he hadn't been shy about letting her know he was displeased with her.

"Are you just going to stand there or are you going to join me?" he asked.

Hermione quickly walked over and sat down. "How did you know I was there?"

"Wolf-sense."

"Wolf-sense?"

"Animagus," he said. "I've stopped blocking my senses."

Hermione wrinkled her nose. "Ick."

"Whomever that fucktard was, he's going to come after me again. You were probably at the top of the stairs when I first smelt you. It's two hundred and fifteen steps to the top. I counted one hundred seven steps after I first heard you. Do I need to block my senses and have you climb back to the top to prove my point."

"Shut up," Hermione said disgustedly.

Harry reached over and took her hand. She leaned her head on his shoulder. "There," he said softly. The red glow on the horizon had just become a decided bulge.

"You can actually see it getting bigger," she said.

"All the mornings I've been up before the sun and I've never actually noticed that before," Harry said. He shifted his eyes so he wasn't staring directly at it.

"I can't believe Sirius owns this place."

"Tell me about it," Harry said. "I don't think I've ever seen anything as beautiful as that water."

Hermione didn't say anything for a long time. "Harry, I'm worried about this fixation you have on Ginny."

Harry stiffened. "Unless you're going to stop breaking Luna's heart, don't start on me about Ginny."

Hermione sat up. "I can't be gay, Harry."

"Then don't say a word to me about Ginny."

"It's not the same, Harry."

Harry closed his eyes, slowly shaking his head. "Don't do this, Hermione."

"When are you going to wake up and realize she isn't good enough for you?"

Harry turned on her. "And you're not good enough for Luna," he said angrily.

"I have made my choice. Unlike Ginny, I'm not leading Luna on. Meanwhile you keep following Ginny like a puppy, desperate for whatever scrap of attention she gives you."

Harry glared at her. "You know what your problem is? You're jealous. You haven't got the guts to be true to yourself so your taking it out on Daphne and Ginny. Well I've got news for you, Hermione. I _will_ win Ginny back. Someday, Luna _will_ move on; and you will be miserable while you pretend to be in love with someone you're not."

Hermione stared back at him, her lower lip trembling as a tear slid down her cheek. "I hate you," she hissed. She scrambled to her feet and ran for the stairs.

"Shit. Hermione!" Harry clambered to his feet and ran after her. He caught her arm only to have her turn and slam her elbow into his temple. Harry staggered back. "OW! Bloody hell, Hermione!" He ducked another punch, caught her arm, spun her around and shoved her away.

She turned back. "I'm going to kill you."

"Fine," he taunted, beckoning her to come at him. "Come on then." She didn't disappoint. Back and forth they went. Harry did his best to just fend her off without actually hurting her, but it wasn't easy. He flipped her only to have his legs swept. He rolled away as she tried to drive an elbow at him. They were back on their feet and she was on him. He tugged. She countered. She made a grab for his leg. He blocked her. The more he didn't fight back the madder she got and it eventually caught up with him. She caught him with a reverse and latched onto his arm before he could get away. He was locked up in an arm bar a second later. "Give!" he cried. She didn't let go. Harry strained with all his might, but it was a submission hold for a reason. "HERMIONE!" Desperate, Harry threw a handful of sand in her face.

"Arrgh!" she cried, releasing him. Harry rolled away. Cradling his arm he climbed to his feet. Shaking his arm out he stumbled to the stairs and retrieved a couple bottles of water from the cooler. He returned to Hermione and dropped down beside her. "Let me see."

"Give me that." She snatched the bottle from him, twisted the top and poured it over her eyes, blinking away the sand. "More," she snapped when the first bottle was empty. He handed her the second and went to retrieve more. It took five bottles for her to get the sand out and when she was done, she launched the last one at him

He batted it away. "You were breaking my arm. What was I supposed to do?"

Hermione squeezed her eyes shut. "It bloody hurts."

Harry sat beside her, banging her harshly in the process. "So does my arm."

"Good."

They sat in angry silence, stewing for a time. "Feel better?"

"No."

"I'm sorry," he offered. She didn't say anything for a long time.

"I'll never do any of the things I want, Harry. I'll never be Head Girl or work for the Department of Mysteries. I'll be lucky to get a job as a shop girl. I'll never be able to support myself."

Harry was silent for a long time. "Hermione, you're Sirius' ward. You're my sister. If they won't hire you in the Department of Mysteries, then make your own Department of Mysteries."

She cocked her head. "What?"

Harry turned to her. "Sirius and my mum have been burning money like kindling trying to do everything we're doing. They're both richer now than they were last year. Your parents, they may not have money like my mum and Sirius, but they're still loaded. You are never going to have to worry about money, Hermione. If someone won't give you the job you want because you're gay, fuck them. Create your own damn job."

Hermione frowned, opened her mouth, closed it, started to speak again but stopped, settling for staring out to sea. Harry said nothing. Sitting beside her, he gingerly fingered his eye. "Is it bad?"

Harry shrugged. "Had worse."

"Sorry."

"It's fine."

They sat in silence for a short time before Hermione spoke again. "Harry, I don't understand. Last year, when it wasn't her fault, it took you months to forgive her after she accused you of hurting Luna. Now, when it is her fault, you'll forgive anything she does."

"That's just it, Hermione. Deep down, I knew she didn't mean it when she said that. I knew she just wanted to hurt me because of what she thought we'd done to her. And I know she could have been quicker to listen to us. There is blame to go around all over. But maybe if I'd been quicker to forgive her, things might have been different. Maybe, somehow, she doesn't get taken into the Chamber. Maybe I don't get bit. And maybe, just maybe, Sandra isn't killed." Harry climbed to his feet and brushed the sand off. "You're my best friend, Hermione. You are my sister. You are the second person I ever said I love you to. But you have no idea what it's like to recover from something like Ginny's been through… I pray you never find out," he said and walked away.

Harry slumped into the chair opposite his mum. Apparently there was still no one else up yet. He grabbed a banana, ripped it open and took a bite like he didn't have a split lip, or a cut over a rapidly blackening eye. Mum stilled. "Dare I ask?"

Harry swallowed. "Hermione."

"Ginny?"

"What else?" He bent and straightened his arm a few times. It hurt enough he might have to have Mrs Tonks look at it.

Mum sipped at her coffee. "As she's still on the beach, can I assume you came off for the worst?"

"Your concern is heart warming," Harry muttered.

"I'm proud of you, you know. It takes a lot of courage to stand up to your best friend."

"She's killing me, Mum."

"Does it have anything to do with your fight with Daphne and why she isn't speaking with Luna?" Harry said nothing. Mum set her cup down and reached for his hand. "Harry, I _know_ ," she said significantly.

Harry stared back at her. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Mum smiled. "That's the first lie you have ever told me and I'm proud of you for it… She's going to need you, Harry."

"She's my sister," he conceded. "That's all that matters."

* * *

"Come for a walk with us?" Hermione's mum asked. She held her hand out to her daughter.

Her father grinned. "Come on, Little Girl." Hermione said nothing but climbed to her feet. The invitation was a thinly cloaked order. She took her mum's hand with her father falling in on her other side and taking the other. There really wasn't far that they could go and remain in the warded areas of the beach, but there was a small section afforded a bit of privacy from the main part of the beach by a pile of large rocks. The three sat down in the dry sand above the tide line.

"You seem to be having trouble with your friends lately," her mum said. "Is there something going on that we should know about?"

"No."

"Are you sure?" her father asked.

"There's nothing wrong," Hermione said defiantly.

Her mother sighed. "Hermione, maybe in a different life your father and I might stay silent and let you come to us. And perhaps we're wrong, but given everything this life has become, if there is anything we can do to make your life easier, we're going to do it. So I'm just going to come out and say, if you were to tell your father and I that you were gay, it would change nothing; we would love you just the same."

"I'm not—"

Her father silenced her with a finger over her lips. "We love you, Hermione. If you're not, then you're not, but if you are, please don't lie to us." A tear slid down her cheek. He pulled her into his lap. "You will always be my girl," he said vehemently. He kissed her crown. "Always, Hermione."

"Easy, Love," her mum soothed when Hermione broke down. "Easy, now."

* * *

Hermione knocked on the door of Luna's room. "Luna?"

"Hmm?" Luna asked without looking up from her book.

"Can I come in?"

"I was getting ready to head down to the beach. Sirius is going to build a fire. I think Harry is going to sing again."

"I'm sorry."

Luna flipped the page. "Hmm."

"Luna, please, will you look at me?"

"I was rather under the impression you didn't want me to look at you."

"Luna, please, I'm sorry. Please, will you forgive me?"

Luna tipped her head. "Alright." She turned the page again.

"Luna?"

"Yes?"

"I'm _really_ sorry."

Luna looked up. "How sorry?"

"Very, very sorry."

"Will you hold my hand again?"

Hermione swallowed. "I'd like to… if you'll let me."

Luna closed her book, climbed from the bed and moved to stand in front of Hermione. "What about hugs?"

"That too."

Luna moved closer. "What about kisses?" she asked.

"I–I," Hermione said a bit breathlessly. That was as far as she got before Luna's lips were on hers. Her eyes widened in shock and then fluttered closed. When Luna pulled back, she swayed unsteadily on her feet. "Wow." She blinked her eyes open. "I think I like kisses."

"Hmmm," Luna answered dreamily. She snapped out of it. "Good, because I shall want to do that again very soon."

Hermione blushed spectacularly. "Me too."

Luna smiled. "Lovely, come along." She grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her outside. Hand in hand they made their way to the stairs down to the beach. Luna stopped about half way down. "I think it best we keep it secret that we're dating till we tell Harry, yes?"

"D–Dating?" Hermione stammered.

"Well of course we're dating. You didn't think I would kiss just anyone, did you?"

"I… Well…"

Luna arched an eye at her. "Yes?"

"Well, you just never said and I didn't want to assume."

Luna cocked her head. "True. Very well then, Hermione, I should very much like it if you would consider to be my girlfriend?"

"I'd like that, Luna."

Luna smiled. "Wonderful. And we're agreed we will tell Harry before letting the others know?"

"Erm, ok, but why?"

Luna gave her a look. "Really?" she asked. It really was amazing sometimes just how often Hermione failed to track things that seemed so simple.

"Oh. Ginny. Right, we'll tell him first and try to be discreet so he doesn't feel too badly."

"Wonderful."

"But we can hold hands, right?" Hermione asked quickly.

Luna considered. "For tonight let's just sit next to each other."

"Alright." They stared at each other for a second.

"Of course they can't see us yet so you could kiss me again if you liked before we—" She didn't get the chance to finish because Hermione's lips were on hers.

Harry had been playing off and on for close to two hours. He'd just finished Daphne's favorite, his slightly modified version of AC/DC's, Shook Me All Night Long and was absently picking at his guitar while people laughed and talked. "I think we should probably call it a night," his mum said. "Some of us are on the early flight you know."

"Boooo!" A dozen voices shouted her down.

"One more!" Malala said.

"Come on, Lils," Sirius said. "It's not like you can't sleep on the plane."

"Oh, fine."

"YEAH!" everyone cheered.

"Play! Play! Play!"

"Ok, ok," Harry said. "But this really is the last one. My fingers are going to be bleeding pretty soon."

"I want to pick!" Luna said.

"It's my turn!" Mum protested.

Luna crossed her arms over her chest. "I haven't picked a single song all night. You've picked two."

"She's got you there, Lily," Mrs Tonks laughed.

"I'm his mother."

Luna put her hands on her hips, clearly not intimidated. "I'm his sister."

"Oi!" Tonks jumped in, "I'm the _big_ sister."

"Enough," Harry cried. "Luna, you pick."

"Hey!" Mum complained.

"I want to hear what you'd play for yourself."

"Ohhh," Mum gushed. "Good job, Luna." She leaned over and planted a kiss on the girl's crown

Luna leaned into her side. "Thank you, Lily."

Harry stopped picking and thought for a second. "I've actually got two.

"Ohhh," Mum, Mrs Tonks, Mali, and Luna gushed.

"—I wrote them the same night. One right after the other." He paused for a moment. "I wasn't really in a good place for the first one." He closed his eyes and drew breath.

"Say something, I'm giving up on you

I'll be the one, if you want me to

Anywhere, I would've followed you

Say something, I'm giving up on you

And I am feeling so small

It was over my head

I know nothing at all

And I will stumble and fall

I'm still learning to love

Just starting to crawl

Say something, I'm giving up on you

I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you

Anywhere, I would've followed you

Say something, I'm giving up on you

And I will swallow my pride

You're the one that I love

And I'm saying goodbye

Say something, I'm giving up on you

And I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you

And anywhere, I would have followed you

Oh, oh, oh, oh say something, I'm giving up on you

Say something, I'm giving up on you

Say something."

When he finished the only sound to be heard was the gentle splash of waves on the shore. "Like I said, I wasn't in a good place," Harry said. "But then I got a letter and I wrote this."

"Desperate for changing, starving for truth

I'm closer to where I started, I'm chasing after you

I'm falling even more in love with you

Letting go of all I've held on to

I'm standing here until you make me move

I'm hanging by a moment here with you

Forgetting all I'm lacking, completely incomplete

I'll take your invitation, you take all of me

Now I'm falling even more in love with you

Letting go of all I've held on to

I'm standing here until you make me move

I'm hanging by a moment here with you

I'm living for the only thing I know

I'm running and not quite sure where to go

And I don't know what I'm diving into

Just hanging by a moment here with you

There's nothing else to lose, there's nothing else to find

There's nothing in the world that can change my mind

There is nothing else

There is nothing else

There is nothing else

Desperate for changing, starving for truth

I'm closer to where I started, I'm chasing after you

I'm falling even more in love with you

Letting go of all I've held on to

I'm standing here until you make me move

I'm hanging by a moment here with you

I'm living for the only thing I know

I'm running and not quite sure where to go

And I don't know what I'm diving into

Just hanging by a moment here with you

Just hanging by a moment

Just hanging by a moment

I'm hanging by a moment

Just hanging by a moment here with you."

Harry sat with his head bowed when he finished. Bill broke the silence that followed. "Must have been a hell of a letter," he said.

Harry stood. "It was enough," he answered and headed for the stairs.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Author's notes:

As I said, I can't write songs. Nor can Harry.

For the record, to the best of my research, we've got;

Simon, by the group, Lifehouse

Say Something, by the group, A Great Big World

Hanging by a Moment, by the group, Lifehouse


	22. Chapter 22

Standard disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR. Except where I might use some song lyrics which I will call out at the time and give proper credit. Thank you JKR for letting us play with your toys.

I will continue to use the occasional song lyric in the story and will give credit at the time when needed.

This is the fourth book in my Slytherin Harry series. And I'm departing from reusing JKR's title because too much of the story has changed. I'll leave it up to all of you to decide just who the Blood Traitor's Daughter is. In my mind there is more than one candidate.

Book 1: Harry Potter and the Muggle's Daughter

Book 2: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Book 3: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Book 4: Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor's Daughter.

If you haven't read books 1-3 you won't know what's going on. But the bonus is you've got three completed books before you even get to this one!

* * *

 **HARRY POTTER AND THE BLOOD TRAITOR'S DAUGHTER**

 **CHAPTER XXII**

 **Waking up to Reality**

* * *

 _ **In Wake of Tragedy Lord Malfoy Voices Support for Embattled Minister**_

 _"I would caution people not to react out of fear and remind everyone of just why the dementors were posted to the school._

 _"Peter Pettigrew is an escaped Death Eater. He has the blood of dozens on his hands; including the parents of Harry Potter. He proved his willingness to do anything to get his hands on Harry Potter when he took Astoria Greengrass hostage and demanded Harry surrender himself or he would kill her. This attack took place not at Hogwarts, but at Platform 9 3/4s. The very obvious reason for attacking there as opposed to the school is the absence of the dementors._

 _"What happened yesterday was a horrible accident. My wife and I are both heartbroken for the Patil family. But we also have a child attending school at our beloved Hogwarts. I would never suggest what happened is his fault, or that he should not be allowed to attend, but it is quite obvious Harry Potter's presence at the school places all our children at risk. My wife and I have both slept far better knowing the dementors were there to guard against Pettigrew ever entering the grounds."_

Harry sat at the Hufflepuff table and seethed. He'd read the story a dozen times and not managed to get past that point. The euphoria of their trip had crashed the second they had arrived home. Daphne's father had been waiting at the Briar Patch with the news. The Easter break saw large numbers of students remain at the school. For the upper-years Hogsmeade weekends remained; and while he and his friends had been hurtling through the sky, returning to England, those students had been visiting the village. The dementors posted to the school had broken free of the aurors controlling them and attacked the students. Parvati Patil, a third-year Gryffindor and one of Hermione's dorm mates had been kissed. Harry closed his eyes. The headlines and stories were seared into his memory.

 _ **KISSED**_

 _Tragedy struck Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Saturday when Parvati Patil of Gryffindor was attacked and subsequently kissed when Dementors posted to the school broke free of their handlers. Parvati, a third-year, was visiting the village of Hogsmeade with fellow students when the unthinkable happened._

 _ **FUDGE UNDER FIRE**_

 _Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge is facing unprecedented pressure in the wake of the horrific attack on Hogwarts' student Parvati Patil._

 _ **DIRECTOR BONES ORDERS DEMENTORS REMOVED.**_

 _Director of Magical Law Enforcement, Amelia Bones called for and was granted an emergency stay of the Articles of War Powers under which embattled Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge had ordered the stationing of dementors to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. On the stay being granted Director Bones immediately ordered the dementors be removed from the school and returned to Azkaban prison._

 _Fudge first invoked the wartime powers of his office to countermand Director Bones' orders to remove dementors from Hogwarts after Fudge had ordered them there when convicted Death Eater Peter Pettigrew escaped from Azkaban prison._

 _ **NO CONFIDENCE VOTE IMMINENT?**_

 _Lords Sirius Black and Anders Greengrass added their voices to that of Lady Augusta Longbottom in her call for a vote of No Confidence against Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge. The three are the most prominent in a growing list of families from the Sacred Twenty-Eight calling for a vote._

On and on it went, culminating in that son of a bitch blaming him for what had happened. A fucking Death Eater was blaming him for an innocent girl being kissed by a dementor! He was so startled by the hand that covered his he jerked away from it.

"Easy, Harry," Luna said.

Harry blinked a number of times before snapping out of it. "Sorry, Luna. You just surprised me."

She took his hand again. "It's not your fault, you know that right?"

Harry gave her a squeeze before letting go. "Yeah, I know." He stood. "I'm going to get some air before class."

"I'll come with you," Hermione said.

"Hermione, I really just want to be alone," he said and walked off.

"Let him go," Luna said, pulling Hermione back when she went to follow anyway.

"But—"

"You'll just make him angry, Hermione."

Reluctantly she settled back in her seat. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Alright," she agreed. "But you'll make certain and find him if he skips, right?" Hermione asked, looking at Ginny and Daphne.

"We promise," Ginny said.

Hermione sighed. "How can they even print stuff like that?"

"It's horrible," Daphne agreed. "But if it's any consolation, I highly doubt Minister Fudge will survive this. Things look very good for Director Bones right now."

"Considering a bunch of Death Eaters got him elected after buying their way out of prison, you'll excuse my skepticism."

"A fair point," Daphne conceded.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

A week later Harry was at the Hufflepuff table. His eyes were on the Ravenclaw table while his fingers tapped a rapid staccato. Parvati's sister, Padma, had returned to school the day before. "Excuse me," he said abruptly. Before anyone could say a word he was up and walking purposefully to the Ravenclaw table. He stopped behind the dark haired girl. "Excuse me, Padma." She turned. Her face was drawn and she looked like the only reason she wasn't crying was because she had no tears left.

"Don't you think you've done enough?" Chase Harper said, standing.

Harry ignored him, remaining focused on Padma. "I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am for what happened to your sister, and if there is anything I can do for you or your family, to please ask."

"Did you hear what I said, Potter?"

Harry continued to ignore him. "I truly am sorry, Padma," he said.

Her face turned ugly. "Get away from me, snake."

Harry sagged. He hadn't expected anything else, but he could at least say he'd tried. "Alright." He turned only to find Harper in his face.

"I told you to go away."

Harry glared up at the older boy. A surge of hatred roiled in his veins. The last week had been hell. More articles had appeared in the paper; with more of the pure-blood set subtly blaming him while claiming not to. The growing group of friends he had were standing by him, but those who were against him had been as vocal and cruel as ever. His hands clenched; he _so_ wanted a target. Forcing his anger aside he turned around. He wasn't going to get in a fight in front of Padma and the rest of the school right now. Chase gave him a shove in the back. "That's right, snake boy." Harry caught himself, stopped and straightened.

"Detention, Mr Harper," Professor McGonagall's voice cut through the hush that had fallen over the hall.

"Professor," he yelped, spinning around. Harry turned back.

"And twenty-five points for physically accosting another student."

"But—"

"Report to your head of house, Mr Harper… Now," she intoned.

"Yes, Ma'am." Professor McGonagall watched him sullenly walk away before her stern gaze swept the Ravenclaw table. They all quickly looked down, but Harry was certain more than a few of them were cursing her. She focused on him. "Five points for attempting to walk away, Mr Potter."

"Thank you, Professor," he answered. He glanced at Padma. "I meant what I said."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

 _ **FUDGE OUT! BONES IN!**_

 _As expected, yesterday, former Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge lost a vote of No Confidence. Current Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Amelia Bones, was immediately voted in as Minister on an interim basis with a full election to be held July 1st._

 _Bones, of course, lost a close election to Fudge when he took the office on the retirement of Millicent Bagnold and will be the leading name on any list of candidates to take the office on a permanent basis. She brings an impeccable history of service and given her vocal opposition of Fudge one wonders if anything at all can be found to damage her chances as the vetting process begins._

Hermione set the paper aside. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"

"Because you're smart enough to know it would be unwise to underestimate Lord Malfoy," Daphne answered.

"You don't really think Director Bones will lose the election do you?" Harry asked.

"Personally, I question the wisdom of Director Bones assuming the position of interim Minister. There is significant risk in being the frontrunner. Anything at all that might happen between now and the election will be laid at her feet. Lord Malfoy defeated her once. He can do so again."

"But didn't she have to accept the position?" Ginny asked. "Wouldn't she have been seen as weak if she had refused?"

"Yes," Daphne agreed. "She really had no choice but to accept when asked. I'm merely pointing out the concern in being in her position. I should think Lord Malfoy would not be above manufacturing something to damage her."

"Wonderful," Harry muttered.

"Still," Daphne said, "the Order is not without cunning. They have been outmaneuvering Lord Malfoy for quite some time now. We shall just have to hope they continue to do so."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Despite the horrible events of the past week and the ensuing machinations of the magical government, life plodded on for Harry and the rest. And it proved, even in bad times, the amazing still happened. Hermione and Luna had both finally managed to produce fully corporeal patroni! Hermione's took the form of an otter while Luna's was a rather large – near two foot wingtip to wingtip – butterfly. Both girls were, understandably, thrilled with their success.

Harry hadn't been all that surprised. The two weren't out with their relationship to the rest of the school, but amongst the six of them, all knew the truth. He had been told before boarding the plane back from Greece. Neville, Ginny and Daphne had been told shortly after. Daphne had spent most of the ride cursing herself a fool for the damage she had done to her friendships with both girls and was going out of her way to prove the two could trust her.

On the one hand, Harry was thrilled. The strain he had been under managing the fissures in the group's friendships had mostly evaporated. On the other, he was jealous as hell. Hermione and Luna were being discreet, but the fact they hadn't even needed three months to get past their issues ate at him. It was nearly two years since he first kissed Ginny. It was also nearly two years since he had last kissed her. Unlike his two friends _he_ wasn't any closer to producing a patronus. Instead he had a notebook filling at record pace. Apparently heartache was the mother of invention for songwriters.

"You're up, Harry." Remus said.

Harry closed his eyes. Last week had been the Patronus Charm. This week they were working on apparating. _Destination. Deliberation. Determination_ , Harry thought. Concentrating as hard as he could he let out a breath and twisted. Harry felt a sudden tightening in his chest, like a giant python had wrapped him in its coils and was slowly squeezing him. His ears felt like someone had just clapped their hands over them and his eyes felt as if they were being pressed into his brain. As quickly as it came it was over and he was suddenly free. He weaved unsteadily on his feet while his stomach heaved. Somehow he managed not to vomit and get himself under control again. "Urgh," he groaned. He gave his head a shake and blinked his eyes open, finally registering he was on the opposite side of Remus' office from where he'd started. His first experience with self-apparating wasn't any better than being side-along apparated at eight had been.

Remus walked around him. "Well," he said, "you don't appear to be missing anything. Brilliant, Harry!" He clapped him on the shoulder. "Now, can you go back again?"

Harry glanced to the opposite side of the room where his friends were all beaming. "It's only ten feet, can't I just walk?"

"Harrrry!" Hermione cried.

"Well you do it and see how your stomach feels, Miss-Cries-About-The-Ferris-Wheel."

In the time it took to blink Hermione raised her wand. "Rictusempra!"

CRACK! CRACK! Harry disapparated and reappeared directly behind Hermione. He wrapped an arm around her neck and clamped his hand around her wrist. "Gotta be faster than…" He got no further, as his stomach picked then to empty all over Hermione.

"ARRGH!" she cried.

"Eww," Daphne, Neville and Luna said. "Hermione," Luna added, "I shant be kissing you goodnight tonight; you do understand."

"Ergh," Harry gasped.

"Ick. Ick. Ick," Hermione chanted. Remus waved his wand at her, vanishing the sick from her hair and clothes.

Harry wiped at his mouth. "I really hate magical travel," he muttered. He lay down on the floor on his back.

Ginny lost her battle not to laugh and snickered. "Slytherin's second best slasher, done in by a bit of apparating," she teased.

"Oi," Harry complained, "next year, you get the other team's top slasher and we'll see which of us scores more points… Bloody hell I feel like shite."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Two weeks later Hermione and Ginny had joined Harry in being able to apparate. Even better, he was no longer tossing his cookies when doing so. Harry was also grateful they had both been sick on first managing it too. It had finally shut Ginny up about his weak stomach. Unfortunately Hermione and Luna remained the only ones capable of producing a corporeal patronus. The other four, Harry and Ginny in particular, were producing enough mist to shroud the dragon preserve on The Island of the Unending Fog but a full patronus still eluded them. Harry was certain his block in being successful with the spell was due to Ginny and the stalemate of their relationship, and had pretty much resigned himself to not getting it till he managed to win her back or gave up and accepted she was lost to him.

"May I join you?" Luna asked.

Harry turned sideways on his bench in the Slytherin section of the quidditch stadium. Luna sat with her back to him, giving them both a backrest. "Please don't tell me you and Hermione are fighting or something."

"No. I just wanted to spend some time with you."

"Surprised she didn't come with you."

"We both thought you might be upset about Ginevra and, let's be honest, the last time you and Hermione talked about her, she nearly broke your arm." Harry said nothing. "Hermione is wrong, Harry," she offered.

Harry shrugged. "Maybe."

"You think she's right?" Luna asked.

"I can't cast the Patronus Charm because I can't put my relationship with Ginny aside. She can't cast one because she doesn't like that the form hers takes is my animagus."

"That sounds to me like she can't put her relationship with you aside."

"It's not the same, Luna."

"Perhaps. Explain it for me."

"I'm just wondering, even if I win her back, will she always be more important to me than I am to her?"

"Do you think that's the case?"

"It sure feels like it."

Luna didn't answer for some time. "Harry, what would you do if Ginevra never came around?"

"Leave. Try and forget her. Try and have a life somewhere."

"So you'd be fine."

"I don't know if I'd go that far," he muttered

Luna nodded slightly. "But you can see a way forward without her?"

Harry shrugged. "I see existence."

Luna sighed. "Honestly, Harry, I think Ginevra feels the same. I think, like you, she's not been truly happy since the train home after first-year. I think she's afraid she can't be happy without you, and you have to admit, that is pretty scary."

"But I _want_ to be with her, Luna. The one thing I want in the whole damn world is to make her happy. She won't bloody let me!"

Luna reached back and placed her hand on his. "I know, Harry, but right now Ginevra is seeing things the way Hermione did. If she refuses to admit the truth, then she never has to know she was right and she can pretend she's happy. I know you're miserable, Harry, I know. But I believe with all my heart that she just needs to prove a few things to herself and she'll admit the truth."

Harry tipped his head back, resting it against hers. "Could you maybe smack her over the head for me?"

"I have been, Harry. Daphne and I talk to her all the time. "She wants and needs you just as much as you do her, Harry. I promise."

Harry sighed. "Thanks, Luna."

"I love you, Harry."

Harry squeezed her hand. "You too, Luna."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

May sixteenth brought the second to last Hogsmeade weekend of the year. Though none of the six would be going to the village. The professional quidditch season was drawing to a close and as luck would have it, the Falmouth Falcons were playing the Holyhead Harpies for a spot in the finals next week. Daphne, as Marcus' fiancée, was attending with her parents and sister. She had invited the others to join them.

"We should be in for a good one today," the announcer said. "The Harpies finished the regular season third in the league with a record of 19-5. Meanwhile the Falcons had a bit of a rough start to the year, but closed with eight wins in a row; including a season ending away win against the Harpies to finish with a record of 16-8. The win sealed the seventh seed in the playoffs for them and they rode that momentum to a win over the second seeded Pride of Portee last week to earn a place in the second round here today. The Harpies took out their frustration on finishing the regular season with a loss by crushing sixth seed Wigtown Wanderers to see them through to today's rematch.

"The Harpies haven't won the league in fifty years, the longest drought of any team other than the Chudley, who failed to make the playoffs this year and see their drought extend to a hundred and one years without a title. You can bet the Harpies fully intend on ending their pursuit of matching Chudley's futility with two more wins and a title next week. Meanwhile Falmouth look to return to the glory of the seventies that saw them win three titles in ten years. We're moments from introductions and emotions are at a fever pitch.

"And… yes, I see movement in the tunnel. Witches and wizards, here come the Falcons!" the announcer bellowed."Keeper, Flint, starting at slasher today are Abner, Davis, Stone and Weasley, beaters are Barnes and Gorne!"

The Falcons blasted out of the tunnel one at a time and raced around the pitch while exhorting their scattered faithful to rise above the boos of the Harpy fans. Being the higher seeded team meant it was a home match for the Harpies and their fans greatly outnumbered those of the Falcons. Charlie, Marcus and the rest of the Falcons were going to have to bring it if they wanted to extend their season with a win today. The last of their players settled at the starting circle and waited.

It started softly, steady, building louder and louder, till the stands shook with the force of thousands of feet stomping in time. Harry grinned from ear to ear and stomped along with Ginny. She was wearing one of Charlie's game-worn jerseys, but her lifelong love of the Harpies couldn't be stopped as she cheered the arrival of her favorite team.

"Traitors!" Daphne cried.

Ginny laughed. "It's the Harpies, Daphne! I can't not cheer for them."

"Besides," Harry shouted. "How can I not root for a team of women?"

"Cad."

"Card carrying, Posh," he retorted.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I GIVE YOU THE HARPIES!"

The stadium exploded and Harry roared with them. Quidditch at Hogwarts had nothing on The League. The Harpies stormed the field together, making a fast circuit in formation before settling at the starting circle. "KEEPER, SPINET. SLASHERS ARE BLAINE, GAIL, TAYLOR AND JILL. BEATERS ARE COOPER AND THE LEAGUE WIDE FEARED, GWENOG JONES."

Harry leaned over and shouted in Ginny's ear. "She's as big as Marcus and Charlie."

"I know," she shouted back.

 **CRACK**

"Bugger," Harry said. It had been over four years since he'd been to a professional quidditch match and he'd forgotten just how much faster play was. And he certainly didn't remember it sounding like a canon shot when the beaters hit the bludgers. Apparently there was good reason for Gwenog Jones' reputation as one of, if not the most, fearsome beater in The League. Daphne grabbed his arm but Marcus easily rolled away from the onrushing bludger and tossed the quaffle to Stone. He barreled out from behind the hoops, building a head of steam as he hit the zone line. Players flashed past one another and it was everything Harry could do to keep track of the quaffle. Barely more than a blink of the eye saw it passed three times before it ended in Charlie's hands. He whipped a behind the back pass all the way across the pitch to Davis who slammed the quaffle past Spinet.

"Sweet Nimue," Ginny breathed.

"And I thought, Cedric was good," Harry said.

"Goal! Score is 30–40 to the Harpies. They've managed to hold Weasley off the ledger so far, but he's still a terror out there and has assisted on all three of the Falcon's goals."

 **CRACK**

Charlie slammed on the brakes to avoid yet another Gwenog Jones' special sent his way. The bludger whipped past his nose and he accelerated after the Harpies' Gail.

"Save by Flint! We're a bit more than and hour in and the teams have settled into a grinding battle with the score at 120–90 in favor of the Harpies. Jill leads all slashers with four goals and the Harpies are doing everything they can to get her on five. Weasley has shifted from Blaine for the Falcons to ensure that doesn't happen."

"He's unreal," Harry said.

"It's him and Marcus keeping them in the match," Ginny answered.

"If they just had one more slasher the Harpies would be in trouble," Harry agreed. "Of course, when _you_ start playing for the Harpies the Falcons won't stand a chance."

"As if," Ginny said. "I'm not this good."

"You will be," Harry said confidently.

"Well what about you? Don't you want to play professionally?"

Harry shrugged. "Maybe."

"What do you mean maybe? You're every bit as good as I am."

"Maybe," Harry said again. "I haven't thought all that much about it. I suppose, if I get the chance, I'll give it a go."

"What do you mean if you get the chance? If you think I'll make it, you have to know you will."

"Maybe," he said again. "I have to live long enough first."

"Goal! That's Weasley on five now and he races up to join the Seek against the Harpys' Jill. Gorne rejoins the Chase after doing an admirable job of playing defense in the Seek, only conceding a single catch to Blaine as the Falcons have sought to get a player snitch eligible. Score is 230–150 to the Harpies. The Harpies remain in the catbird's seat, but things are far from finished yet."

Ginny blanked the match out while she watched Harry's profile. From the first moment she laid eyes on him he had seemed bigger than life. He had an energy that never stopped. Even lying unconscious on a hospital bed he felt an instant away from doing something astounding. To her, at the very least, he just burnt more brightly than anyone else. But that energy had changed since the attack that had seen Parvati kissed. It was subtle though and she had been trying to put her finger to it for a while now. His comment about living long enough slammed the answer home for her. For all his power, all his potential, for all the greatness just waiting to be unleashed, Harry was as powerless as a wolf caught in a trap. For whatever reason, the attack on Parvati had made him aware of that cage.

"And there goes Weasley."

Ginny tore her eyes from Harry to Charlie and the battle for the snitch.

"The man truly is a freak of nature. I don't think I've seen such a combination of size and speed in twenty years of calling matches. And he's got it! No one can say Jill didn't give it everything she has, but Weasley is just too strong and muscles her aside to make the catch. Score is 240–210 to the Harpies. Jill remains snitch eligible though and Gorne flies back up to defend the Seek while Weasley drops back into the Chase. We're getting the match we expected today. On the whole the Harpies are the stronger side, but they just don't have an answer for Weasley. And as we move into the last half hour, it remains anyone's match."

"Come on Charlie!" Ginny screamed. Her brother bore down on the Harpies' keeper. She didn't bite on his fake though and dove after the shot when he went back the other direction. "YES!" Ginny exploded when the quaffle glanced off her fingertips, clanged off the underside of the hoop and through. "GO! GO! GO!" she shouted urging him on as he blasted up into the Seek again.

"And that goal could spell trouble for the Harpies! They've managed to carve out a lead of 300–230 but another snitch by Weasley will pull the Falcons ahead. Gail remains in the Seek for the Harpies though and a catch by her could seal things up for them."

 **CRACK**

An instant before he could snag the snitch the bludger slammed into the tail of Charlie's broom. It blew apart in an explosion of twigs turned to dust. Charlie made a desperate lunge but the snitch was gone and he was spiraling out of control.

"And Jones has unseated Weasley with that bludger. He's just tumbled twenty meters across the pitch after crashing. There's the whistle as time is called. If a bit unsteady, Weasley appears unhurt as he staggers to his feet. Score stands at 310–240 to the Harpies and Jones may have saved the season for them there. Blaine has broken through for a sixth goal herself now and the stoppage will give the Harpies the chance to trade her for Jill in the Seek. Up by seventy with only about ten minutes left, we're right on the edge where the Harpies just might chance playing down a woman in the Chase to ensure Weasley doesn't snag his second snitch of the match. Weasley's in the air again and there's the whistle restarting play. It would appear his head is as hard as it looks as Weasley wastes no time in blasting up into the Seek again. And the Harpies are going to counter him with both Jill and Blaine. Hold onto your hats witches and wizards its about to get real!"

Harry was in awe. He'd flown against Charlie a few times the previous summer and thought he was as good as advertised, but the display above proved Charlie had just been toying with him. And as good as he was in the Chase, it was the Seek where Charlie was a really a god among mortals. It was taking every bit of the two Harpies' skill to counter him. And neither if them were shy about rough play. Of course Charlie wasn't exactly being chivalrous. Harry would be floored if any of them had less than black eyes when the match was done. "Come on Charlie!" Harry shouted. For a second Charlie looked like he'd broken free, but Blaine kicked the tail of his broom, allowing Jill to slide in front of him. The snitch raced away and the horn sounded.

"No," Harry and Ginny groaned together. The Falcons had literally been inches from winning, but instead found themselves on the wrong end of a 310–280 final score.

"He was so close," Ginny moaned.

"I know," Harry agreed. Ten minutes later Marcus had joined them in the box but Harry was watching Ginny while she watched Charlie with the rest of her family across the pitch. He had wondered if they might not also be here. "Alright?" he asked.

"Fine." She turned to him. "Really, Harry, I'm fine."

Harry opened his mouth when suddenly Marcus' mother screamed in agony beside him. She staggered to the edge of the box just as a flash of red light streaked up and slammed one of the supports for their box. The left front corner dropped sending Harry careening into Ginny. A tangle of limbs they tipped over the edge. Harry scrabbled for a handhold, somehow managing to catch himself with one hand while grabbing a handful of Ginny's robes with the other. She had a broken floorboard with one hand while the other gripped firmly to his belt. Face to face, they swung wildly about. "Thanks," he gasped.

"Yeah," she answered.

"Harry!" Neville shouted, reaching down from above.

A jet of green light passed right between Harry and Ginny's noses and exploded against another of the supports for the box. For a second, time stopped as they stared at each other. "FUCKING HELL," they cried.

"We've got to get back up!" Harry said. The entire box dropped about a foot causing Harry to almost lose his grip.

"It's going to fall, we have to get down!"

"How, it's too far?"

"Better a broken leg than dead," she countered.

"Look out!" Harry released the grip he had on her robes, wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her tight. Another jet of green light flashed an inch behind her back. He arched his back, dodging another spell. The box dropped another few inches and groaned ominously.

"My broom!" Ginny cried. She tried reaching for it but her free hand was opposite the pocket she kept it in. "I can't reach it!"

Harry flailed with his free hand to get a grip on the support and then wrapped his legs around her. "I've got you!"

"Harry you can't—" Another spell flashed past them.

"Now, Ginny!" She let go swinging wildly beneath him. "Hurry!"

"I'm trying!" Her hands were free, but now her pocket was trapped between her body and Harry's legs. "You have to loosen your hold!" Harry relaxed slightly and she was able to reach her pocket. A second later her broom case was plummeting down. "Got it! Let me go!" He'd no more than done so, allowing Ginny to drop away, when another flash of green light passed through where she'd been only a second before. Ginny whipped around on her broom. "Get on!" Harry let go, dropping onto the broom behind her. They sped away just as another barrage of spells impacted the front of the box, blasting bits of wood into the air.

* * *

The spell that sent Harry and Ginny careening over the edge of their box blasted a shard of wood as big as a beaters bat into Hermione's knee. Her knee buckled and she collapsed to the floor. "Arrgh!" she screamed, writhing in agony.

Luna picked herself up from where she'd fallen. "Hermione!" she cried, crawling to her.

Neville rolled off of Astoria. She'd hit her head when they fell, but otherwise appeared fine. "Stay here," he ordered before crawling to the edge where Harry and Ginny had spilled over. Bracing for the worst he pulled himself up and peered over. "Harry!" he cried in disbelief. He reached down just as a sickly green jet of light streaked between Harry and Ginny's noses. He was thrown to the floor when the spell slammed into the box supports, causing the whole thing to drop sharply about six inches.

Anders Greengrass grabbed Astoria from the floor by the arm and shoved her at his wife. "Go! Get her out of here." The box dropped again, pulling away from the wall and the safety of the steps into the bowels of the stadium. She stumbled back into him and they all slid towards the front of the box. The box dropped again, pulling further from the wall.

* * *

Marcus lunged for his mother just as the box dropped, sending her, Harry and Ginny spilling over the edge. He careened into Daphne, threatening to take them both over the edge as well. Going with it, he shoved her to the floor, landing heavily on top of her. Almost as soon as they hit he was pulling her back up. "Are you alright?"

"Yes. I'm—" she didn't have time to finish when he grabbed her tight and spun them around. His body jerked and dropped like a rock at her feet. Confused, she stared down at him for a second before a wave of spells blasted the front of the box, sending a thousand shards of broken wood flying at her face.

* * *

By the time Bill found the cause of the chaos, Harry and Ginny were already dangling over a hundred-foot drop. "Fucking Hell!" he grabbed Charlie's broom from his hands and launched into the sky. With spell-fire flashing all around them he could only watch in horror as they swung wildly about. Harry managed to get a grip with both hands and wrapped his legs around Ginny's waist just as a barrage of spells came at them. She slipped and fell, swinging wildly below Harry as he strained to keep them both from plummeting down. "GINNY!" Bill screamed. "God no," he pleaded, praying it hadn't been the death curse. Just another second and he'd be close enough to levitate them. His heart started beating again when she was suddenly on her broom. A second later, Harry dropped on behind her and they were speeding away. Bill didn't have time to bask in their escape. The box was going to crash down at any moment and he had to give the others as much time to get out as he could. He landed as close to the collapsing box as he dared, drew his wand and shouted, "Wingardium Leviosa!" Bill was a powerful wizard, but almost instantly he could feel the strain of trying to hold something that weighed more than an erumpent.

* * *

Cursing the wards that prevented him apparating to the attackers, Remus weaved in and out of the sea-wave of fans fleeing the scene. He had just gotten to a point where he might be able to levitate Harry and Ginny down when they were suddenly flying away. His attention turned to the source of the attack. There were three people launching spells at the box. "Stupefy!" His spell bounced harmlessly off the warding they had erected but it was enough to draw their attention as two of them turned to fire on him. He batted the first spell aside but was forced to dive away when the second assailant hurled the Death Curse at him.

* * *

"GO! GO! GO!" Harry shouted.

"What the bloody hell do you think I'm doing!" Ginny screamed back as they accelerated away. Harry's wand slid into his hand as he traced the spells back to their source. He found them just as Remus engaged them. The brief moment of relief at Remus diving away from the Death Curse was swept away when the spell flew past him and struck a fleeing witch in the back. For a half second Harry's mind locked. All sound ceased, it seemed all the air was sucked from the stadium. For a moment the witch seemed motionless, like a suspended marionette, and then, as quickly as if her strings had been cut, she crumpled bonelessly to the ground. Everything went from stopped to a million miles an hour in the blink of an eye.

Harry simply reacted. He didn't think or consider, he just _knew_. "DEFODIO MAXIMA!" The version of the gouging spell the goblins used to drill blast-holes through solid rock erupted from his wand. The world slowed and Harry felt as if everything but he and Ginny were in slow motion. The super-heated vortex of purple light seemed to take hours to reach its target. The instant of impact sent the world racing forward again. The assailants' ward was shredded, a huge section of the stadium exploded and the assailant closest to the impact was tossed thirty feet into the air to crash, unmoving, back down. Harry's eyes widened, he could see the backlash of the impact coming back at them! "Hold on!" he shouted, grabbing tight around Ginny's waist. The concussion of the reverberating explosion rocked he and Ginny on their broom, sending them through a complete barrel roll before she could right them.

* * *

"Daphne!" her mother cried, diving down beside her shrieking daughter.

"Marcus," Lord Greengrass asked, kneeling beside him, "are you alright?" Marcus didn't move so he rolled him over, revealing sightless eyes. "No," he breathed.

Neville picked himself up, his ears were ringing from explosions and dust and debris clouded his vision. Astoria was huddled on the floor with her hands over her head screaming. Luna was trying to help Hermione. Daphne was on the floor writhing in pain with her mother trying to help. Lord Greengrass had just rolled Marcus over and was staring at him in horror. The box dropped again and Neville could swear he felt it slowly pulling away from the last of its supports as it started to fall. Clarity rushed back in. "We have to fly!" he shouted. He grabbed Luna. "We have to fly!"

"She can't fly!" Luna screamed hysterically.

Neville shook her. "YOU HAVE TO TAKE HER!" he roared.

Luna blinked. "Right. Of course. Thank you, Neville." She took her broom from her pocket, enlarged it, threw the case to the side and mounted it.

Neville grabbed Hermione by her shirt. "Come on!" He hauled her up. She screamed in agony but he got her in place behind Luna and she wrapped her arms around the other girl. "Go!" Only after she was gone did Neville realize he needed Hermione's broom to get everyone out.

Lord Greengrass grabbed Marcus' broom from the floor. "Where's Lady Flint?"

"She fell," Neville shouted back.

"Both of them," he whispered.

"Sir!"

He snapped out of it. "Right. Take Astoria!" he ordered, mounting the broom.

"What about Marcus!"

"He's dead!" He grabbed his wife and hauled her up. "You have to levitate her!" she nodded. He glanced at Neville. "GO!"

Neville tore his eyes from Marcus and mounted his broom. Thanking the day he decided to befriend Harry and Hermione and all the physical training to follow, he bodily hauled Astoria up and shot out of the box. Lord Greengrass and his wife, levitating Daphne behind them, followed an instant before the box tore away and slowly crashed down.

* * *

Bill sank to his knees, his arms trembling as he tried to hold the spell. He'd seen three brooms fly away but couldn't be certain everyone had gotten out. There were also people who had been hurt by falling debris in the attack still under where the box would crash down if he couldn't stop it. "Aaaarrrggghhhh!" he bellowed as the box tore away from the last of its supports and the full weight hit him. Just when he was certain he couldn't possibly hold the spell any longer the strain lessened.

"Easy, Bro."

"We've got ya," another voice said.

"Bring it out on the pitch."

Bill opened his eyes to find Charlie, Kingsley, Tonks and a half dozen aurors he didn't know had joined him. Working together they were able to bring the box out over the pitch and set it down. The second it was on the ground half the aurors were racing to it while the others were climbing into the stands to check on the injured spectators. "Where is she?" Bill gasped.

* * *

Remus picked himself up just in time to see Harry's spell impact with the ward. The force of the explosion was enough to stagger him and he watched in disbelief as one of the assailants was launched into the air to crash barely more than ten feet from him. A Death Eater mask clattered down the steps and stopped at his feet "Incarcerous!" he snapped, binding the man tightly in conjured ropes. A quick summoning charm confirmed the man had lost his wand in the explosion. He turned his attention to the other assailants. One of them was slumped, awkwardly, backwards over the seats. The third, the one who had cast the Death Curse at him, appeared dazed but was on his feet and stumbling away. With each step he took he seemed to be gaining strength. Remus fired off a stunner at him but missed. The man turned and loosed a hail of metal darts at him. Remus erected a shield that held through the first of a dozen strikes before one smashed through and embedded in his arm. Remus hissed, yanked the dart out and popped his emergency bezoar in his mouth. "The man pointed his wand at the sky, yelled, "Morsmordre," and bolted through the hole in the wall. Remus charged after him. He made it about twenty steps before collapsing.

* * *

Ginny righted the broom and brought them around again. "Sweet Nimue," she breathed. Harry's spell had demolished the benches for five rows and blasted a massive hole in the wall. She could see clean through into the concourse that ran around the stadium. And the lone attacker left had just disappeared through it. Remus was bounding up the steps in pursuit but he collapsed a few feet from the opening

"Remus!" she and Harry cried. She launched the broom forward. Harry jumped off some ten feet from the ground and skidded to his knees beside the man.

"Harry," Remus gasped.

"What's wrong?" Ginny demanded, settling beside them.

"Some kind of poison."

Harry dug his bezoar from his pocket. "Here."

"Already took one."

"Well another won't hurt," Ginny said. She pulled hers out as well. "Take them."

Remus swallowed them both and lay there gasping for breath. A second later frothy black blood boiled up form his lips. "Remus! What's wrong with him?" Harry cried.

"S–Silver," Remus gasped. "P–Poison sh –shouldn't…" he shuddered. "F–F–Freezing…"

"No!" Harry shouted. He shook Remus. "Don't you dare!"

"Ch–Charm," Remus gasped before his eyes rolled back in his head.

"Freezing Charm?" Ginny whispered.

"Remus!" Harry shook him again. "NO! DON'T YOU DIE ON ME!"

"Stop the poison!" Ginny exclaimed. "A Freezing Charm will stop the poison and we can flush his blood!" _But it can't be just any Freezing Charm_ , she thought. Her wand slid into her hand. "Ī ātma muktagoḷisalu, mānsavannu phrīj." Almost instantly Remus' body went ridged. The cold was so intense Harry jerked his hands away. He stared at Remus for a second before focusing on Ginny. "It was the only—"

"Thank Merlin!" Bill gasped crashing down next to them. He hauled Ginny into his arms. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine! Bill! Stop! We have to help Remus!" She pushed him back.

"Point your wand at me, Bill." Harry said.

"W–What/What? Why?" Ginny and Bill asked together.

"Do it!"

"Ok, ok!" Bill raised his wand "Now what?" Harry changed to his wolf and bolted. The other two stared at the empty space he'd been. "Aww shite," Bill muttered. He scrambled to his feet. "Impedimenta," he snapped, sticking Ginny in place before racing after Harry.

Harry had been angry many times in his life. He knew he had a temper. It was rage at the senseless death of that innocent woman that had fueled his magic and crashed the ward protecting the Death Eaters. But only the death of Kaa had set him in a blood rage with murderous intent. No matter what Ginny thought, her freezing spell wasn't going to save Remus. He was a werewolf. Silver in his blood was as good as putting a wand to his head and casting the Death Curse and he would be damned if the man who killed him got away. Thankfully the concourse was mostly empty by now and the few terrified witches and wizards still trying to escape the stadium threw themselves aside as he raced after the man. Harry skidded to a stop, slamming into the wall as the scent trail turned into a stairwell. He righted himself, bounded down the stairs and burst out into the open air outside the stadium. He had to catch him before he reached the gates and left the limits of anti-apparation and portkey wards. Up ahead he could see the man just reaching the turnstiles. The wolf pushed into his veins and his stride lengthened as he covered the ground in huge chunks. He dodged a wizard, leapt and was outside the grounds. The man probably only needed to go another ten yards and he'd be able to apparate away. With a savage snarl Harry leapt. He slammed into the man's back just as he touched his wand to the amulet around his neck. Harry instantly felt the tug of a portkey in his tummy as they spun away.

Bill ran down the concourse shouting, "The wolf, which way?" A child pointed down the stairwell. Bill bolted down. Skidding out at the bottom he turned just in time to see Harry leaping over the few people still trying to get through the turnstiles. He tore after him. "Auror!" he shouted. "Move aside! Auror!" People dove out of his way and he hurdled the turnstiles into the open. "There was a wolf," he shouted, looking around frantically. "Where did it go?"

"I saw a great grim," an elderly wizard stepped forward. He pointed. "Just there."

"What happened to it?"

"Just disappeared," the wizard said. "Jumped on some poor soul and they were gone."

"Show me," Bill ordered. "Get me as close as you can."

The man quickly hurried over. "Here."

"Thanks," Bill said. "Now back away."

"Yes, Sir," the wizard said. "Was that really a grim?"

Bill touched his wand to the ground, arced it high up over his head and touched it to the ground again. In rapid succession he had made a dozen more. Each arc left a golden strand of magic behind. Very quickly he had caged himself in. What appeared to be a rip in the fabric of reality formed a pitch-black circle about a foot in diameter. "That was my partner," Bill said. He dove into the portal and was sucked away. The golden strands of magic turned to sand and spilled to the ground.

The wizard backed away. "Looked like a grim to me," he said uneasily.

Harry had the good fortune to land on top of the unknown wizard as they crashed down through a coffee table. Transforming as he rolled away his wand slid into his hand. He wasn't even on his knees before, he snarled, "Reducto!"

The wizard was at least as good as Harry though and seemed to have been unfazed by being landed on by a great wolf. "Protego!" Still laying on his back he batted the spell away. The spell deflected into the wall, leaving a new doorway in its wake.

Everything slowed for Harry again. He had time to consider they were in the living area of a small flat. There were piles of boxes from takeaways strewn about, dirty dishes everywhere, and the whole place reeked of alcohol. Kind of like the Hogshead in Hogsmeade. He also was able to consider the new doorway into the kitchen had opened things up quite nicely. That gave him the idea a new stairway might be in order as well. If he forgot to add stairs, well, he wasn't exactly an interior designer, was he? He adjusted his aim downward. "DEFODIO MAXIMA!" For a half second, as he seemed to hover, Harry and the man locked eyes. Then time returned to normal and the man plummeted down.

"Stupefy!" Harry growled jumping after him. The man was already rolling away and the spell missed him by an inch. Harry landed in a crouch and swept the man's legs as he tried to stand. Pouncing, he grabbed his arm and twisted, trying to disarm him. The man rolled out of it and swung an elbow at Harry's temple. Harry ducked, grabbed the end of the man's wand and broke it. He took a shot to the kidney for his effort and went down. The man dove at him but Harry rolled away. He was on his knees when a fist came at him. Harry grabbed his wrist and pulled the man in, lowering his forehead into his face. A satisfying crunch told him he'd broken the man's nose. But, despite Harry having had the upper hand almost the entire fight, the man hardly seemed fazed. Harry kept his grip on the man's arm; turned so his back was to him, bringing his arm over his shoulder. At the exact moment Harry pulled down, dislocating the man's elbow nearly nighty degrees, the man's free had drove a knife into Harry's side.

"ARRGH!" they screamed, spilling away from each other. Clutching at the knife and his side Harry staggered back into the wall.

Across from him the man cradled his arm as he backed away. Hate filled eyes locked together. A malicious smile creased the man's face. "You're good," he panted, "but a broken arm won't bleed to death."

Harry's spare wand slid into his hand. "No, but a Reducto to the head will." The man's eyes widened.

Before Harry could let loose the man crumpled. He was trussed up in anti-apparation and portkey coils a second later. Bill dropped down through the hole in the floor. Harry slid down the wall. "Bout time you go here," he gasped.

"Fucking hell, Potter," Bill muttered kneeling beside him, " if you weren't already bleeding to death, I'd kill you myself… Do you know what he hit you with?"

"Knife," Harry said, shifting his hand slightly."

Bill stared at the knife in his side for a second. "Well, that makes it easy."

"Less talking. More healing," Harry retorted.

"Come on," Bill said, easing him over, "on your other side."

"Ahhh," Harry groaned.

Bill cast a diagnostic spell on him. "Good, it's not serrated."

"Joy, cause this hurts a whole lot less."

"Considering I have to pull it out, yeah, it will hurt less." He grabbed the handle

"You're gonna numb it first, right?" Harry panicked. Bill yanked. "ARRGH!" Harry screamed.

"Maybe that'll teach you not run off like that again."

"Fuck you," Harry panted.

"Here goes," Bill said without sympathy.

"Ahhhahahah," Harry gasped as his flesh knit.

"Alright, that'll hold you till Andi can get to you."

"Now can I have a Numbing Charm?" Harry gasped.

"No." Bill started searching their captive.

"Son of a, miserable fucking sod," Harry cussed him out.

"I'm serious, Potter," Bill snapped. "That was the dumbest fucking stunt I've ever seen. And considering I'm related to Fred and George that's saying something. Whatever you think you are, however tough you think you are, going after a fully qualified wizard like that was just stupid."

"I didn't see you complaining when it was Ginny I was saving."

Bill tapped his wand to a portkey he set on the prisoner's chest. He vanished from sight and Bill turned on Harry. "That's the point you arrogant little toe-rag, you weren't saving anyone. You were hell bent on revenge without a concern for anyone else."

He killed, Remus!" Harry fired back. "The man is the only father I've ever known! Was I just supposed to let him get away?"

Bill grabbed Harry by a fistful of shirt and hauled him up so they were face to face – well, more face to chest as Bill was 6'-2" and towered over Harry. Harry hissed painfully. "Yes," Bill growled, his jaw clenched. "Just like Sirius shouldn't have gone after Pettigrew." Harry opened his mouth to retort, but stopped. "Shoe's on the other foot now, isn't it?" Bill pressed his point home. Harry said nothing. Bill smiled malevolently. "And just so I know this little lesson sinks in, time to go." He turned sharply, taking Harry with him when he apparated away.

"Arrgh!" Harry cried on landing back at the Briar Patch. He promptly dropped to his hands and knees and vomited, putting even more pressure on his barely healed wound. He collapsed to his side, panting and shaking with pain.

"Harry!" Mum, Mali and Mrs Tonks cried, moving to him.

"He's fine," Bill said. "Just got knifed in the side. I already healed it."

"Knifed!" they shrieked.

"What on earth is going on?" Mum demanded. Mrs Tonks was already examining Harry's side.

"You were listening to the match, right?" Bill asked. "So you know there was an attack?"

"Yes. We've been waiting to hear but you're the first ones back."

Bill started talking. "And that's why I didn't bother giving him Numbing Charms," he finished.

Harry's mum turned on him. "He killed Remus," Harry pleaded.

"Andi," Mum asked, "is my son in any danger?"

"No. I'd like to keep an eye on him overnight, but he should be fine to return to school in the morning."

"And you've given him a Numbing Charm?

"Yes."

"Then please get him upstairs. Bill, can you take me to the hospital?"

"Sure, Lily," Bill agreed.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

The following morning Mum came in and sat down on his bed. Harry sat up, still wincing slightly over his most recent injury. "Remus is still in a coma. He's stable for now, but things are very iffy."

Harry nodded. Mrs Tonks had already told him Remus was still alive and being treated at St. Mungoes. She'd also told him of the injuries to his friends and about Marcus and his mum. "But he might live?"

"If something like this had to happen we couldn't have asked for a better time. It's a week past the last full moon and three weeks till the next. He's about as strong as he can be and we've got time to try and purge his system before he transforms again. If he survives the full moon, he'll live."

"Can I see him?"

"Bill will take you before returning you to school."

"Alright," Harry said after a second.

Mum took his hand. "I love you, Harry. I agree with Bill; you shouldn't have gone after that man, but I still love you."

"I know," Harry agreed.

"I also want you to know I'm not happy with Bill. He should have given you Numbing Charms.

Harry shrugged. "Maybe."

Mum raised his chin. "Teaching by torture is wrong, Harry. We had a huge row about it. He finally shut up when I asked if he'd have done that to Ginny."

"He would with his brothers," Harry said.

"It was wrong, Harry."

"Mr Granger does the same thing," Harry countered. "If we make the same mistake over and over he stops holding back and really clobbers us. Believe me, that happens once and you remember."

"I don't think it's the same."

Harry shrugged. "Maybe."

"You're not angry with him?"

"No."

"But you're upset about being told you shouldn't have gone after that man?"

"No. I think maybe he's right."

"You do?"

Harry shrugged again. "Well, he's right, is it really any different than Sirius?"

Mum frowned. "Yes and no. I think maybe there are some things that are different, but the overall point is probably valid."

"What do you think is different?"

"Well, you're thirteen for one. Sirius was twenty-two. You had very different responsibilities."

"But in the end, it really is the same, isn't it?" Harry asked. "I went and did the exact thing I've held against Sirius, didn't I?"

Mum nodded. "Yes, when it comes down to it, you did."

Harry was silent for a few moments before he leaned in and hugged her tightly. "Love you, Mum."

She kissed his crown. "Love you too, Baby." She pushed him back, holding him by the shoulders. "How are you doing?"

Harry shrugged. "He was my friend."

"I know. That's why I'm asking."

Harry picked at his jeans. "When is the funeral?"

"Next weekend."

"We're going, right?"

"Yes."

Harry nodded, let out a breath and stared at the floor. "How is she?"

"Daphne?" He nodded. "Honestly, I'm not sure she knows about Marcus." Harry looked up. "Her injuries are pretty severe, Love. She's been sedated since they brought her in."

"Mrs Tonks said she didn't think they were that bad."

"Andi didn't know everything, only that she was hit with debris from an explosion."

"Oooookay," Harry said pointedly.

"She was hit in the eyes Harry. They're hopeful of saving her vision in one, but she's going to be blind in the other." Harry stared at her for a second before jumping up and beginning to pace. "Harry," Mum said sharply.

"What?" he snapped.

"You're making the house shake. Please calm down."

Harry blinked. She was right. Everything in his room was rattling about, and he could feel his magic humming in his veins. He took a deep breath and forced his magic back under control. "Do we know why they did it?"

"We only know they were hired to attack the Greengrasses. We don't know why, but we suspect it's because they have _betrayed_ the pure-blood families. We're hopeful of finding out more, but the one you and Bill captured wasn't the ringleader."

"And I killed the other two, right?"

Mum hesitated. "Yes."

"Good." He and Mum continued to eye each other.

"Harry, I'm concerned about how this is affecting you."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you and your friends, but you specifically, have been involved in the deaths of a troll, Professor Quirrell, and now these two people—"

"The only one I feel bad about is the troll," Harry cut her off. "The rest of them got what they deserved."

"Did they?"

"They were trying to kill me and my friends. Hell, I wish I'd killed the son-of-a-bitch who took Astoria."

Mum nodded once. "I don't disagree you've done what you needed to. I won't even disagree about the man who took Astoria. I'm just worried about how it's affecting you."

"What do you mean how it's affecting me? I'm fine. They got what they deserved. I don't feel bad about it."

"I'm not suggesting you should feel bad about it. I just want you to know you can talk to me about how it's affecting you."

"How it's affecting me is I'm sick and tired of it," Harry said angrily. "What gives these people the right? Why do they think they're better, or deserve more, or that they can take out their lot in life on the rest of us, or whatever it is? Get off your lazy arse and work for whatever it is you want. Fuck, if someone has a right to be mad at the world for what it did to them, it's me. You don't see me going around killing people because of it!"

"You're right, Harry. But what I'm concerned about is the seeming ease with which you hand out death."

Harry stared at her. "Oh, I see where this is going. You're worried someday I'm going to just start killing everyone I disagree with. Gee, thanks, Mum. I really appreciate the faith you have in my humanity."

"Harry, stop."

Harry glowered at her. "Is Daphne at the school or St. Mungoes?"

"Harry—"

"I don't need to talk about it," he snapped. "They got what they deserved. I don't feel bad about it. If they sentence that last son-of-a-bitch to death, I'll be more than happy to deliver it."

"And you don't feel bad they might be someone's father, brother or that they are someone's son?"

"Bloody hell, are you _trying_ to make me feel guilty!" Harry exploded. "I'm not responsible for the choices they made. All those people had to do was not try and kill me or my friends and they'd still be alive. If their families are upset about it, they're fucked in the head. If they want to blame someone, they don't have any further to look than their son, brother or father. But I'm not responsible for any pain they're suffering."

"They may not see things that way."

"Again, not my problem."

"Harry, your own father was killed. Can't you understand how they might feel just a tiny bit?"

" _My_ father wasn't a murderer! Jesus, Mum, they should thank me for killing them. For the love Nimue, Marcus only ever had a chance to be a decent person _because_ his father was killed."

Mum pressed her lips together. "Harry, I don't disagree with you. I'm just concerned you can take life so easily. It shouldn't be easy to kill someone."

Harry's cheek twitched. "If it were easy for me to kill someone, Draco Malfoy would be dead." Before she could say anything else he turned around and walked out.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Author's notes:

After the trip to Zakynthos, it had to happen. You just didn't want to believe it.


	23. Chapter 23

Standard disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR. Except where I might use some song lyrics which I will call out at the time and give proper credit. Thank you JKR for letting us play with your toys.

I will continue to use the occasional song lyric in the story and will give credit at the time when needed.

This is the fourth book in my Slytherin Harry series. And I'm departing from reusing JKR's title because too much of the story has changed. I'll leave it up to all of you to decide just who the Blood Traitor's Daughter is. In my mind there is more than one candidate.

Book 1: Harry Potter and the Muggle's Daughter

Book 2: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Book 3: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Book 4: Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor's Daughter.

If you haven't read books 1-3 you won't know what's going on. But the bonus is you've got three completed books before you even get to this one!

* * *

 **HARRY POTTER AND THE BLOOD TRAITOR'S DAUGHTER**

 **CHAPTER XXIII**

 **When it Rains**

* * *

"Potter," Bill stopped him before Harry entered Remus' room.

"Yeah?"

"About yesterday, just, my last job, they had these unwritten rules. No one is going to let someone die or be permanently maimed or anything, but the idea is, if you suffer after messing up, you're less likely to do it again. I kind of forgot I wasn't in the tombs and that you're a kid, not a trained curse-breaker. I shouldn't have done that to you. I'm sorry."

Harry frowned slightly. "I guess I appreciate that, but I don't really disagree with what you did… I fucked up. And I'm not likely to forget it. Honestly, it's kind of cool you treated me like an equal."

Bill considered him a second. "You shouldn't be, Harry. We both know what's what, just try and hold on to being a kid as long as you can. You only get one chance at it, yeah?"

"Not sure I've ever really been a kid, Bill…" Harry shrugged. "Maybe a few years after I found Hermione and most of first-year." A bit of a wistful smile graced his face. "I could stand to relive a few of those days."

"Which ones?" Bill asked.

"Meeting Hermione." He chuckled. "Got my arse kicked six ways from Sunday that day… Train to school the first time… Train home after first-year. I could live the rest of my life in that day."

"Why that day?"

"Cause I had everything that day."

"You're convinced it's Ginny, aren't you?"

"I've known she was the one from before I met her."

Bill nodded. "I can't say I don't sometimes wish she'd never met you, but I can't say I wouldn't be pleased if she does eventually pick you either."

Harry sighed. "I think there are a lot of people in my life who have similar thoughts." He stared at the floor.

"No one blames you for any of it, Harry."

Harry looked up. "Parvati's sister does."

Bill pressed his lips together. "I hate to disparage her, but there are always going to be those who choose the coward's way. It's the coward in me that wishes Ginny'd never met you. But the people who know you, know it isn't your fault. "

"You sure the coward isn't the smart one?"

"If being smart means being a coward, then I don't want to be smart."

"And what happens one day when she doesn't make it? What if the coward's way is the only way she lives?"

"Well, it's not my choice is it?" Bill asked.

"You sure it shouldn't be?"

Bill quirked a brow at him. "How about I don't tell her you said that?"

Harry eyed him for moment before he let out a sardonic little huff. "Yeah, probably a good idea, that. I like my bits attached."

Bill smirked. "On second thought, maybe I will tell her."

Harry chuckled. "Walked into that one, didn't I?"

"Yeah, well, I'm a bloke too. And let's face it, that's my sister you can't keep your eyes off. It's my sacred duty to terrorize you."

"Guess you really blew it yesterday then, didn't you."

Bill chuckled and scratched his head. "Yeah, maybe I did."

Harry stuck his hand out. "No hard feelings?" he asked.

Bill grinned and shook his hand. "Thanks, Mate."

Harry took a breath and blew it out. "Right then." He pushed the door open and entered the room. Remus lay on his back on the bed. His complexion was an ugly yellowish hue made all the worse for the pristine white sheets covering him. A strange contraption hummed and whirred at the head of his bed. Two long, tubes ran from it to Remus and disappeared under the collar of his hospital gown. Another contraption clanked away on the other side of the bed. This one had a clear tube running from it and was connected to a mask over Remus' nose and mouth. Harry could do nothing put stare.

"Hey, Pup," Sirius said softly. Harry swallowed. "It's new," Sirius said. "Part of the foundation your mum and I set up. Never expected he'd be the one we tested this on." Harry edged closer. "That one's pretty obvious," Sirius said. "He can't breath on his own so the machine is doing it for him. The other one cycles his blood." He pointed to one tube. "This one that's red is clean Blood Replenishing Potions going in." He pointed to the other tube. "The one that looks black is bad blood being pumped out."

"C–Can I have some t –time alone with him?"

Sirius stood. "Sure thing, Pup. Just if an alarm goes off, scream like a banshee."

Harry gave a jerky nod. "K." Sirius gave his shoulder a squeeze and left them alone. Harry edged to the bed. "Hey, Remus," he croaked. "You look better than I expected." Harry stopped and choked back a sob. "Sorry, I don't know what else to say." Harry reached for Remus' hand. He stood there for a long time before he cracked.

"Madam Pomfrey says people in a coma can sometimes hear what those around them are saying. And maybe I'd get in trouble for this if someone else was around, but they aren't. Somehow I think you might know anyway… But things are pretty bad, Remus. They've got you hooked up to these experimental machines and they're trying to clean your blood before the full moon. I don't think anyone needs to tell you what happens if they can't get the silver out.

"The truth is, you deserve so much more than this, but this might be all either of us get so even though it's cowardly on my part, I'm going to say this… I don't think I can ever call anyone Dad, but you should know I'm not sure anyone could have been a better dad than you have… I don't know why you've done what you have. I wish I could ask you," Harry paused. "Like I said, you deserve better than this from me, and I swear, if you just live you'll get it, but I love you Remus."

Harry sat quietly, waiting, hoping, Remus would give some sign he'd heard him but there was nothing. Harry bowed his head. "You deserve better, Remus," he sighed. "You deserve better."

Harry stepped out of Remus room to find Mrs Tonks waiting for him. "Sorry," he said, "I didn't mean…" He trailed off when he noticed the tears sliding down her face. "What's wrong?" he asked warily.

She took a breath. "Astoria's dead, Harry."

Harry rocked back on his heals. "But she was fine," he protested.

"She hit her head when she fell yesterday."

Harry slowly shook his head. "She was fine. She was fine."

"I know, Love."

"She was fine." Mrs Tonks reached for him but Harry backed away. "She was fine!" he shouted. "You told me the healers said she was fine!"

"I know, Love. Please, I know." She tried reaching for him again.

"But how?" he croaked as she pulled him in. "They said she was fine."

Mrs Tonks kissed his crown. "She had a weak blood vessel in her head. It didn't show when the healers examined her because she was sitting up. When she fell asleep last night it changed her blood pressure and the vessel swelled and burst." Harry gave a small shudder. "I'm sorry, Harry." She kissed him again. "I'm so sorry."

"D–Does Daphne kn–know?"

"No. For at least the next twenty-four hours, anything that upsets the healing process could leave her blind in both eyes. They've made the decision to keep her sedated for at least that long, but you still should not mention anything when you see her."

Harry closed his eyes and just let her hold him. "Andi?"

"Yes, Love?"

"I love you."

She cradled his head under her chin. "Oh, Love." She kissed his crown. "I know." She kissed him again. "I know."

Harry braced his hands on the lavatory counter. He wasn't even sure how he'd come to be there, just he'd needed to be alone after seeing Astoria's body in the morgue and the toilet seemed like the one place no one would bother him. It happened so quickly he barely had time to lean over the sink when he was suddenly retching. Again and again, long after his meager breakfast had been expelled his stomach continued to heave. More than once he thought he might finally have got control of himself only to have his stomach contract again. "Argh," he gasped, suddenly clutching at his side. The next time he spit in the sink there was blood. He stared at it for a few seconds before staggering to the door. "Shit. Shit, shit, shit," he gasped.

"Harry?" Mrs Tonks asked worriedly.

"Side," he croaked. "Threw up. Tore. Spitting up blood."

She stared at him for a second before quickly moving to support him. "Come on, just lie down for me." Harry groaned as she eased him back. She was already casting diagnostic spells on him when a half dozen people came running up.

"What's wrong?" a man asked.

"He was stabbed in the attack yesterday," Mrs Tonks said. "I healed him, but he's just torn his internal wounds open when he vomited."

"What do you mean you healed him? Why wasn't he brought in? Blimey, is this who I think it is?"

"Yes. I'm his personal healer and will thank you to remember healer/patient privacy regarding just whom this is. He was perfectly fine and under instructions to do nothing strenuous for another twenty-four hours."

The man took his wand out and began examining Harry as well. "Of course, forgive me. Do you know what caused him to start vomiting?"

"Stress," she answered. She ran her wand over his side.

"Ahhh," Harry sighed. "Tha's nice."

"That's my, Love." She took his hand and kissed it. "Though I'm afraid you've bought yourself a night in hospital."

"Sound's good t'me," Harry slurred.

"Nicely done," the other healer said, "We'll get a room set up."

"Remush," Harry said, "be with him?"

"Remush?"

"A family friend," Mrs Tonks said. "He was injured yesterday as well and is being treated for silver poisoning."

"Silver poisoning?"

"Yes."

"You mean he's…"

"A werewolf, yes," Mrs Tonks said.

He blinked a number of times. "I'm afraid I can't allow that."

"Why no'?" Harry asked.

Mrs Tonks hit Harry with a sedation spell. "You don't have to. I am."

"Now see here—"

"You'll find I have admitting privileges, Healer," she cut him off. "If you would kindly provide me a stretcher I shall deliver Harry to his accommodation myself."

"You cannot intend to put him in with a werewolf," the other healer hissed.

Mrs Tonks leveled him with hard eyes. "Healer…" she said significantly.

"Hegamier," he provided. "Healer, Jürgen Hegamier."

She smiled, though it wasn't exactly pleasant. "Healer Hegamier," she said, "I am Mr Potter's personal healer. Unless you wish to incur the wrath of _Lord_ Sirius Black, I suggest you not question my decisions regarding his ward."

"He – Is – A – Werewolf."

"He is a personal friend of Harry's and is the most gentle man I have ever met." She smiled at the orderly who had brought a stretcher. "Wonderful. She levitated Harry onto the stretcher and then levitated it up. Focusing on Healer Hegamier again she said, "Prejudice has no place in a hospital, Sir. I suggest you spend some time and educate yourself to the facts of lycanthropy instead of the lies you think are the truth."

* * *

Malala entered through the back door. "Lily?"

"Upstairs," Lily called back.

Malala made her way through the kitchen and up the stairs. She poked her head in Lily's room. Lily was sitting on the floor, a large trunk in front of her and piles strewn about. "Hey you."

Lily swiped at her cheeks. "Hi."

"What's wrong?" Lily shrugged. Malala came in, shifted a few things about with her foot and sat down. "What's wrong, Luv?"

"Harry and I had a fight."

"Oh?"

"I tried to talk to him about the fact he killed two people."

"And that didn't go well?"

"He has no remorse, Mali; not a thought for the pain their families might suffer."

Malala took a slow breath and released it. "I see."

"The thing is, I was projecting my own feelings onto him."

"How do you mean?"

"When he saved Astoria over Christmas, I was angry with him for not killing that man when he had the chance, Mali."

"You didn't say that to him, did you?" Malala asked aghast.

"No," Lily said quickly. "I knew I was sick. What kind of mother wishes her son had just killed someone like that? I haven't stopped thinking about it since it happened. So here I am, wishing my son had just killed another human being and yesterday he does just that. He kills two people and I know I should be concerned about their families, or how it might affect Harry to take another life and instead all I feel is relief that there are two fewer people to worry about.

"I know I'm sick, Mali. And I projected that on Harry. I think, hoping he might restore my humanity by at least assuring me I haven't raised a sociopath; only he has no remorse either. I kept pushing him to try and feel something and he just got mad and told me if their families wanted someone to blame, they only had to look as far as their dead, son, brother or father to find the culprit."

Malala thought for a few moments before responding. "I haven't spoken with Harry, so I don't know if I can offer a sound observation of him or not, but in regards to yourself, you are confusing remorse with responsibility. You do have remorse for the pain their families might feel, Lily. If you didn't, we wouldn't be having this conversation. It's in trying to take responsibility that you're wrong. Harry is right about one thing. Remus, Marcus, his mother, that innocent witch at the stadium who was killed, everyone else who simply wanted to watch a quidditch match, they're the victims; not the men who attacked them. If a crime has been committed against those men's families, those men are the ones who are guilty of it."

"And wishing he had killed the man who took Astoria?"

"Well, I'm not angry he didn't, but I do wish that he had."

"You do?"

"Some people are beyond any obligation the rest of the world might have to offer them redemption. If that man truly was who we believe him to be, he has already escaped once. If we capture and imprison him again, only to see him escape again, who bears responsibility for the crimes he commits?"

"We do," Lily said. "At least we bear some responsibility."

"We do," Malala agreed.

Lily gave her a weak smile. "Thank you, Mali. You've helped."

"Good. Now what is all this?"

Lily sighed. "Harry's baby stuff, or at least what survived."

"Show me?" Malala asked. Lily pushed a pile out of the way and Malala moved to sit beside her.

Lily leaned over and hugged her tightly. "You truly are a wonderful friend."

Malala hugged her back and kissed her cheek. "So are you, Lily."

About an hour later the two were reading a book of wizarding fairy tales. "Lily," Malala said, "would you think it crazy if I said I'd found an answer for you regarding the invisibility cloak?"

Lily frowned. "You can't mean this, Mali, it's a fairytale."

Malala turned to her. "August 19, 1989 I sat in your kitchen and learned a thousand fairytales were true, Lily." Lily stared at her.

"Lily?" It took her a few seconds to process someone was calling for her. "Lily?

Lily shook herself. "Upstairs, Bill," she answered. The sound of feet pounding up the stairs had her setting the book aside. "Everyone decent?"

"You can come in."

He stepped in the doorway. "Oh, good, you're here as well. And, yeah, you're sitting already, that's good."

Lily grabbed Malala's hand. "Please not Remus," she croaked.

Bill shook his head. "Worse." He tried to go on, but the words caught in his throat."

"What do you mean worse?" Malala asked. Again he couldn't force the words past his lips.

"Bill," Lily whispered.

"Harry tore his wounds open. Andi's already healed him, but he's going to be in overnight."

Lily cocked her head. That wasn't good news but it wasn't enough to explain his odd behavior. "What happened, Bill?"

He closed his eyes. "Astoria's dead."

* * *

It was dark when Harry woke again and he couldn't remember where he was. He started to sit up only to find his hand was trapped in someone else's. "Harry?" Mum asked. He turned to her. It all came crashing back in a second. He closed his eyes painfully.

"It's not a dream, is it?" he asked.

"No," she answered.

Harry raised his hand and pressed his fingers into his eyes. "Please tell me nothing else has happened."

"Nothing else, Harry."

"Is anyone else here?"

"We all are, Harry," Luna said, coming into view. She took his free hand and kissed it. Hermione moved around the bed by his mum.

"Hey, Mate," Neville said.

"Hey," Harry answered.

Ginny stepped next to Luna and placed her hand on their joined hands. "Hi."

Harry tried to smile but couldn't. The whole reason he'd started vomiting had been because he couldn't purge the thought that at least it hadn't been Ginny lying on the table while staring at Astoria's dead body from his mind. "Hi," he croaked. He closed his eyes and gently pulled his hands from his friend's grasp. He turned on his side, away from Ginny and Luna. "I'm sorry, but I think I need more sleep."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

The following morning, Harry and his friends were outside Daphne's room. Neville and the girls were all sitting in chairs, but Harry couldn't seem to stand being comfortable; even better was being in mild pain. He was crouched, arms resting on his knees and back to the wall. His legs were not pleased with his position of choice; strange how the mind could be happy when the body was in pain. "How long has it been?" he asked.

"Almost an hour," Neville answered.

Just then the door opened and Daphne's parents came out. Harry struggled to straighten his legs while the others stood. Mrs Greengrass focused on Ginny. "She's asking for you."

"Yes, Ma'am," she said. She stepped past them into the room.

"I'm not certain how long it will be yet," Daphne's mother said to the others when the door had closed.

"We understand," Luna answered. She, Hermione and Neville returned to their seats while Harry slid down the wall to his squat again.

Daphne's parents exchanged a few quiet words before he kissed her brow. She gave him a sad smile and walked off. Lord Greengrass watched her go till she had turned the corner before turning to Harry. "Walk with me?" he asked.

Harry pushed himself up again. "Yes, Sir." He moved stiffly, trying to get the blood flowing in his legs again as they set off. Harry was content to simply follow along as Mr Greengrass led him through the maze of hallways, not really noting where they were going till they were walking out the main doors of the hospital. He blinked rapidly in the blinding sunlight and had to jump out of the way of a raft of Muggles as they hurried past what appeared to be an empty storefront with broken mannequins in the display. "Erm, where are we going, Sir?"

"Hyde Park."

"Hyde Park?"

"It's only a few blocks and I think you need to get out of this hospital as badly as I do."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, sure." He followed along as Lord Greengrass set off again. Though he paid much closer attention to his surroundings than before. "Sir, not that I don't trust you, but is this safe?"

"Lord Greengrass chuckled humorlessly. "Trust me, Harry, security is much tighter than it was."

Harry closed his eyes, squeezing them tightly. "Yes, Sir." Before long, the two had made their way to the park, past the Albert Memorial, crossed the bridge over The Serpentine and found a quiet spot to lean on the rail overlooking the water. Harry didn't really have anything to say and Lord Greengrass didn't seem inclined to talk either so they just stood there for a very long time. Eventually though, Astoria's father spoke.

"My daughter adored you, Harry."

Harry swallowed over the sudden lump in his throat. "I was fond of her too, Sir. Maybe not in the way you might have hoped, but I would have done nearly anything for her."

"Including give your life," he agreed. Harry said nothing. "You gave us four months we wouldn't have had, Harry." Harry just stared out over the water and silence settled on them again.

"I'll find them, Sir."

"You're a child, Harry, not a soldier."

"Did my mum or Mrs Tonks tell you to tell me that?"

"No, they didn't. Why do you ask?"

"You're the second person to say something like that to me in the last two days."

"Whomever they were, you should listen to them."

"I'm a child of prophecy, Sir… A Champion," he added bitterly.

Lord Greengrass placed his hand on Harry's shoulder, turning him. "You have help, Harry. People who's suffering is as great as your own, people you turn away from at your peril. Don't deny others their right to stand at your side simply because you're the one the prophecy speaks of."

Harry held his eyes. "I'm still going to find them."

"You won't have to, Harry. They'll find you." He squeezed Harry's shoulder. "Let them find you with us at your side, Son."

* * *

Ginny quietly closed the door. Though she hardly looked different than the last time she had seen her – her head was still wrapped in bandages – Daphne was sitting up in her bed. "Ginny?" she croaked.

"It's me, Daph."

She held her hand out. Ginny quickly crossed to her and climbed in the bed. Daphne took Ginny's hand and pressed it to her cheek. "You're not hurt, right? They told me you weren't hurt?" She slid her hand up Ginny's arm to her shoulder and face, frantically trying to assure herself of Ginny's words.

"I'm fine, Daph," Ginny assured. She caught Daphne's hand and kissed it. "Not even a scratch."

"And the others? It's just Remus, Marcus, his mother and… and…"

"Yes," Ginny said. "Everyone is fine."

Daphne gave a little shudder. "Swear to me."

"Pinky swear," Ginny said. She kissed Daphne's hand again. "I promise, everyone else is fine." Daphne broke down and Ginny pulled her down so her head was in her lap. She bent over her friend protectively. "I'm sorry, Daphne, so, so sorry."

* * *

Luna watched Harry walk away with Daphne's father. "If one didn't know better they would think Harry and Ginevra were star-crossed lovers," she said. Neville cocked his head slightly.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"Just that I fear things have taken a poor turn in their relationship again. They'll work it out, I'm certain. I'm just rather afraid it will be a bit longer than I had recently thought."

"Luna?" Hermione asked.

"Yes?"

"I'm confused. Will you please explain what you mean to me?" Neville nodded his agreement fervently.

"Oh, it's rather simple really. I'm almost positive Ginevra has worked through everything she needs to and would be ready to start a relationship with Harry again. Unfortunately, Harry is now being eaten alive with guilt over his relief that it was Astoria and not Ginevra who was killed… Haven't you noticed, he can barely look at her now?"

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

"Harry," Ginny said. He seemed not to hear her and continued to stare into the fire in the Slytherin common room. The five of them had returned to the school with the promise they could return to the hospital each night after classes for as long as Daphne and Remus remained in hospital. She reached for his hand. "Harry."

He jerked away like red-hot coals had been dumped on him. "Sorry," he said, squeezing his eyes tightly shut. "Sorry." She reached for his hand again. He stiffened but didn't jerk away this time. "Sorry," he said again. His eyes darted between her and the fire. "You just startled me."

She smiled. "It's alright. I was just going to say we should get to bed."

Harry glanced about the common room. It had been fairly late when they'd returned and not many people had been about yet. But now, aside from them, it was deserted. "What time is it?"

"Midnight."

Harry groaned. "Training is going to be a bitch tomorrow."

"We're not training tomorrow," she said. "Remember, we discussed it on the way back with the others. You're also supposed to wait another two days." Harry just stared at her. "Come on, let's get you to bed."

"Yeah," he agreed, allowing her to pull him up. He followed her to the hallway to the boys' dormitories where he dropped her hand. "Night," he said unceremoniously.

"Harry," she stopped him.

Harry turned back. "Yes?" Again he couldn't seem to hold her eyes.

"Sleep well."

He cocked his head. "I doubt it," he said. He was gone before she could say anything else.

Not quite sure why she was feeling disturbed she stared after him for a few moments. She shrugged his behavior off. It wasn't like things had been easy the last few days or anything. "He just needs sleep," she said to herself and turned for her room.

Closing the door, she stopped and stared at Daphne's empty bed. "Oh, damn," she muttered. She crossed to her bureau and gathered pajamas before heading for the toilet. Once changed and finished brushing her teeth she headed for bed only to stop in the door and stare at Daphne's empty bed. "Oh no you are not," she muttered. She climbed in her bed and settled in. Half an hour later she sat up in a huff. "The hell with it." She climbed from her bed and crawled into Daphne's. Who cared if it was childish as long as she managed to sleep.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

The following day was a complete blur to Harry. He'd gotten up, gone to breakfast, class, lunch and class again, but honestly couldn't remember a thing about the day; not what he'd eaten, not what he'd drank, he couldn't recall if he'd spoken even once. And somehow he'd ended up at Remus' bedside. "Harry," Ginny said. She placed her hand on his. He startled but managed to avoid jerking away from her.

"Yeah?"

"Were you going to go see Daphne?" Harry closed his eyes tightly. "Just we only have about half an hour before we have to go back to the school."

"Half an hour?"

"Yes."

He gave a little shake of his head. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, we've all been, but you wanted to stay with Remus."

"You've been to see her already?"

"Yes." Harry frowned. "She asked about you."

Harry took a deep breath. "Yeah, ok. Just give me a sec."

She gave his hand a squeeze. "I'll wait outside."

"Yeah, alright."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Harry stepped next to the sarcophagus. It was two weeks to the day since the attack and Daphne was finally well enough to leave the hospital. "I've thought a lot about what to say today… I'm not sure I've thought of much else since first learning Astoria was dead. I'm still not sure what to say.

"I think I'm supposed to speak of how wonderful Astoria was, how she could light up a room with her presence and how much she'll be missed… And I could do that. I could tell you that I knew of Astoria before I actually met her. I could confess my intentions were to have as little to do with her as possible. I could tell you Astoria shattered those intentions. I could tell you I was as surprised by her sorting as anyone. I could tell you I was told Astoria wasn't well suited for Slytherin. I could tell you, as I got to know Astoria, I would agree.

"But while Astoria was not a fighter, there was strength to her. She held a compassion for others that drew me in. I don't believe I ever heard a harsh word from her. And I think anyone who knows me, would agree, in that respect, she and I could not have been more different. I think maybe seeing that strength in her showed me a weakness in myself. So yes, I could tell you Astoria was a wonderful person. And I could try and tell you Astoria is in a better place. And I think I'm supposed try make sense of the unthinkable and help you find comfort in her loss… I'm supposed to do a lot of things.

"Instead, all I can think about is how angry I am. And if I'm angry, I wonder just how angry her parents and sister must be. And while I may not know her parents as well as I might like, I do know Astoria's sister. And if Astoria's parents are anything like Daphne, I know they will never stand up here and tell you how angry they are. They're stronger than I am that way. But maybe that's what I'm supposed to do. Maybe I'm supposed to express the absolute rage they feel. Maybe I'm supposed to express the rage all of us should feel. Maybe I'm supposed to scoff at the idea Astoria is in a better place and tell you her place is at the Hufflepuff table with her friends, or her bedroom at home with them, talking about all the things girls her age do. Her place is at the dinner table with her parents and sister. Her place is a lot of things, but it is _not_ wherever she is.

"Astoria was special. And there is a hole inside of me _no one_ is ever going to fill. I can't find anything to say that might offer comfort in her death because there _is_ no comfort in her death. Her death is a crime that makes me question if there is anything at all in the world that is good and I have nothing to give you but my rage… I have nothing but rage."

Harry moved to Daphne and her parents. Her father stood and took his hand, bending down by his ear he spoke quietly so only Harry could hear. "I may have gone about things wrong, but I was not wrong to think you would be good enough for my daughter. Thank you, Harry."

Harry swallowed thickly. "Thank you, Sir." He moved to her mother. "My Lady."

She stood, placed her hands on his shoulders, bent and whispered softly to him. "My rage embraces yours." She kissed his cheek, pushed him back and kissed his other cheek. "Thank you, my Lord." She took his face in her hands and kissed his brow.

"Thank you, Ma'am," Harry said. He braced himself and turned to Daphne. She had only been released from hospital two days before. She wore a patch over her blind eye and the brilliant sapphire blue of her good eye was stained with blood from the broken vessels her injuries left behind. The damage to her eyes was such that tears streaked only the cheek beneath her good eye. She had buried Marcus' Mother two days ago. Yesterday she buried her betrothed. Today she buried her sister. For Harry it was meeting her gaze that had been the hardest. She stood and embraced him. His hand on the back of her head Harry held her tight. "I swear," he whispered, "I'll find them."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

"Hey," Ginny said, "mind if I sit?"

Harry shifted over on the couch in the common room. "How is she?"

Ginny shrugged. It was the day after Astoria's funeral and Daphne had insisted she was returning to school. "As good as can be expected I guess."

Harry nodded. "Yeah."

"Yeah," she agreed, joining him in staring into the cold hearth. "I think she appreciated what you said at the funeral."

"Empty words," Harry muttered.

"It isn't empty words, Harry. It matters. It mattered to Daphne and her parents… It mattered to me."

"It doesn't bring her back. Nothing brings her back."

"I didn't say it does. Why are you mad at me?"

Harry clenched his jaw. "I'm not mad at you."

"You keep snapping at me."

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to."

"Why won't you look at me?" When he didn't answer she reached for his hand. He didn't pull away but she could see him stiffen. She slowly withdrew. "And now, when I finally feel strong enough to hold your hand again, you have to force yourself to let me."

Harry stared into the cold fireplace for a long time before speaking. "Everyone thinks I puked my guts out that morning because I was upset about Astoria. The truth is, when saw her lying there, the first thing I felt was relief that it wasn't you. And now, every time I look at you, the guilt fills me and I feel like I'm going to rip my stomach to shreds again."

Ginny swallowed painfully. "What are you telling me?"

Harry bent his head, pressing his palms into his eyes. "I don't know, Ginny."

She turned away from him. "We're cursed, you and I." Harry turned to see a tear slip down her cheek. "We can't look at each other—"

He turned away again. "—and we can't look away."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Ginny held Remus' hand as she sat beside his bed. It was the third of June, a bit more than two weeks after the attack and the day before the full moon. Honestly, he looked horrible. His face was sunken. His skin had a yellowish tinge to it. His hand, big as it was in hers, felt brittle, like a good squeeze on her part would snap the bones into a hundred pieces. Nevertheless there were positive signs. He had been off the ventilator for almost a week. His blood no longer ran black as it left his body. They continued to filter and replace it, hoping to purge any last remnants of silver from his body, but at least it was red. And he'd had brief moments of being conscious over the last two days. They were keeping him sedated now, trying to ensure he was as strong as he could be for the full moon. She knew it wasn't much. He'd defied the odds simply living this long and she was trying not to hope too much. But hope for Remus felt about the only light she could find right now so she took it. She knew she was being selfish, but Remus surviving was very personal to her. If he managed to live, it was because of her. Her spell had stopped the silver before it killed him and given the healers the chance to save him. If he lived, then all the suffering of the last year wouldn't have been in vain. If he lived, it proved he was right in convincing her not to kill herself after the diary. If she managed to save him, then maybe there was a tiny bit of something absolving her of having killed Sandra.

A knock on the door drew her attention. Harry poked his head in. "I was hoping I could have a minute before we have to go back."

"I'm just done." She kissed Remus' cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow," she whispered.

* * *

"Sorry we're late, Professor," Hermione said as she, Harry, and Ginny came through the front gate.

"It's quite alright," she answered, closing the gates. They had only taken a few steps towards the castle when a brilliant ball of light zipped in and hovered in front of them.

"Kai?" Ginny asked. The fairy whipped around her head three times and settled on her shoulder.

"Hello all," Luna said, seeming to appear from almost nowhere. Daphne and Neville were also with her.

"Miss Lovegood," a bewildered Professor McGonagall said, "what are you three doing here?"

Luna focused on her. "I don't know about you professor, but when the Lady of the Loch tells me to follow, I follow."

"The Lady of the Loch?" she asked.

"Yes, you know," she pointed to Ginny and the fairy sat on her shoulder, "the goddess, Nimue." Kai stood from where she had alighted on Ginny's shoulder and bowed. "You see," Luna said.

Professor McGonagall eyed the fairy. "Not particularly, no." Kai stuck her tongue out at the professor before flying off about ten feet.

"Oh, I don't think she's pleased with you, Professor," Luna said. "Still, best you come along anyway." She set off after the fairy, gently pulling Daphne with.

"Now wait just one moment," Professor McGonagall protested.

Harry sighed. "I'm really not in the mood myself, Professor, but Luna's right. We need to follow her." He set off after the other two and the rapidly disappearing fairy.

"She did save his life," Ginny said, following.

"And here I thought the year couldn't get any worse," Hermione muttered.

Neville shrugged. "Sorry, Professor, I go where they go."

Professor McGonagall watched them walking away for a second before following. "If anything like this happens again next year, I'm retiring."

Kai led them across the grounds to the edge of the forest where she stopped and waited for everyone to catch up. Harry morosely stared into the forest. "Really?" he asked. Kai hovered in front of him crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently. "You can't just tell us whatever it is here?" he pleaded

"We have to go to the clearing, Harry," Luna said. "That's where her power is strongest." Kai clapped her hands and darted to stand on Harry's shoulder. She pointed her hand forward and marched in place.

"You do realize the mood I'm in, don't you?" Harry demanded. Kai grabbed his earlobe and twisted. "Oww. Alright, alright, I'm going." He set off, rubbing his ear tenderly. He also made a mental note to never again forget Kai knocked dragons out cold with a fist the size of a thimble.

Daphne edged next to Ginny. "Is she really, The Lady of the Loch?" she hissed.

Ginny took her hand. "Yes."

She eyed the fairy sitting on Harry's shoulder. "She's a bit shorter than I expected."

Ginny squeezed her hand. "Shush." She set off, pulling Daphne with her.

Kai sat on Harry's shoulder and kicked her feet happily; sending puffs of fairy dust into the air. Every once in a while she would direct him by either tugging on his ear when she wanted him to go right or pushing his chin when she wanted him to go left. It was quite the walk to the clearing and Harry was beginning to feel a bit like a horse from all the prodding the fairy was giving him.

"I have never known the forest to be so quiet," Professor McGonagall observed.

"It's her doing," Luna answered. "She's keeping us safe."

"Safe from what?"

"Mostly the acromantulas."

"Acromantulas?" Neville croaked.

"Yes. They're the most dangerous creatures in the forest; at least when it isn't the full moon."

"Small blessings," Professor McGonagall muttered.

"Do you have any idea what she wants?" Hermione asked.

"Obviously," Luna said, stepping into the clearing, "she has something to share with us."

"Indeed, I do, child," Nimue said. Luna and Ginny instantly knelt.

"How did you, Wha!" Harry yelped as Luna tugged him down to his knees beside her.

"Hush," she said. Harry glanced about but Luna smacked the back of his head.

"Alright, already," he muttered, bowing his head.

Hermione knelt on Luna's other side, "My Lady."

"You please me, Child," Nimue said. She eyed Neville, Daphne and Professor McGonagall. Ginny reached over and gently pulled a stunned Daphne down. She obviously hadn't really believed that Kai was Nimue. Hermione tugged Neville down.

"Sorry," he squeaked.

Nimue ignored him, remaining focused on Professor McGonagall. "Have you so quickly forgotten our last encounter, Child?"

"I have not. But these children are under my care. I would like to know for what purpose you have sought them out?"

"My purpose is mine, Child. Were your concern not for them, my patience would be thin indeed."

Professor McGonagall slowly knelt. "Forgive me," she said.

"Done," Nimue said. She focused on Harry and his friends. "You have favored me; strengthened me. I shall now favor and strengthen you." She stepped forward, placed a finger under Harry's chin and pulled him to his feet. "Rise, Child." She did the same with Ginny and Daphne. "You shall come. The rest shall remain." She turned and moved to the center of the clearing. Ginny immediately followed. Harry and Daphne hesitated long enough for Ginny to simply vanish from sight.

Luna pushed them forward. "Go."

"But—" they protested.

"She's perfectly fine," Luna said when they continued to hesitate. "It's simply not for our eyes to see. Now go."

"Such an intuitive child," Kai sighed happily. She favored Luna with a smile.

Harry glanced between them before turning to Daphne. "She did save my life," he said before turning to the clearing. He took a breath and strode forward. He also took a three steps and vanished from sight

* * *

Ginny took three steps into the clearing and froze. Her body began to tremble and a tear slid down her cheek. "Ginny girl," her father said.

"Daddy!" she cried and flew into his arms.

"Shush," he soothed. He cradled her head in his hand. "Easy now." He held her tight. Eventually he tried pushing her back. She shook her head and held on tightly. "Oh now, let me see you," he chuckled. She allowed him to push her back and he held her by the shoulders.

She reached for his face. "Is this real?" she whispered.

He took her hand and kissed it. "It is."

"How?"

"Let's not waste time with trivial things like how, shall we?" he said. He pulled her close and kissed her crown. "I am so proud of you."

* * *

Harry stopped in his tracks. "Astoria," he choked.

She smiled and took his hands in hers. "Hello, big brother."

Harry sank to his knees. "I'm so sorry," he croaked.

She knelt in front of him and pulled his head to her shoulder. "Hush now." She kissed his crown. "You gave me everything you were capable of giving. You owe me nothing."

* * *

Daphne hesitated a second longer after Harry had vanished before stepping forward. She took but a single step when the goddess moved directly in front of her. "You may choose," Nimue said. "Would you have me heal your body, or the pain on your soul?"

Daphne frowned. "I–I'm sorry, I don't understand."

Nimue smiled gently. "It is simple, Child. I can restore your sight or I can ease the pain in your heart."

Daphne stared at her. "What good is sight when the world has gone dark?" she asked bitterly. "If it will end this pain, I beg you, give me a knife that I might gouge my eyes from my head."

"And you accused me of being the dramatic one."

Daphne whipped around. "Astoria?" she whispered.

"Hello, Sister."

Daphne frowned. "What is this?"

Astoria smiled. "A chance," she said, "to help you understand."

"What do you mean?"

"I wasn't supposed to live even this long, Daphne… Harry was never supposed to be my brother."

"What?"

"It was you, Daphne. Your letters to father when he asked about Harry emboldened him. Your decision to warn Marcus about Draco's plans to hurt Ginny and father's eventual blessing for you to attempt to befriend her set things in motion for Harry to save me this past Christmas."

"Are you saying you would have died then without Harry?"

She stepped close and took Daphne's hands in hers. "Yes. And it would have been a long, painful death, Daphne. You saved me."

"But what was the point in saving you if you were just going to die now?"

"The point is four months, Daphne. It is the love of a brother and the hundred friendships that only formed because of Harry's actions that day. It is a thousand crimes that do not stain my soul, and it is mother and father not being destroyed by the manner of my death. It is your heart growing to understand the love between Hermione and Luna is no less valuable than that between Harry and Ginny. It is to know that you and I mattered to each other and to know we will meet again."

"We will?"

"We all meet again, Daphne. Just, sometimes, it is a long wait." She pressed a kiss to each of Daphne's cheeks. "I am proud to call you sister, Daphne."

"Wait!" Daphne cried. "You can't leave already."

Astoria pressed her palm to Daphne's chest. "I'm here, Daphne, always."

"But what am I supposed to tell Mother and Father?" Daphne pleaded.

"They already, know, Daphne." Astoria pulled her head down and kissed her crown. "I love you." Daphne blinked and Astoria was gone.

* * *

With Harry, Ginny and Daphne gone from sight Hermione leaned over to Luna and hissed, "What's happening?"

"I told you, she's showing them something that is only for them."

"Very good, Child," Nimue said, moving beside her.

"But where are they?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"They are beyond," Nimue answered. "What they see and what they are told upon their return is for them alone to reveal."

"As helpful as last time," Professor McGonagall muttered under her breath.

"As all but Harry would be dead were it not for my previous efforts, one might be more respectful of the assistance I do provide." Professor McGonagall closed her mouth tightly. "You have pleased me recently, Minerva," Nimue said. "But make no mistake, in this moment, you are every bit the child these children are."

She bowed her head. "Forgive me."

"Twice in the same few minutes, but very well." She turned as Harry, Ginny and Daphne suddenly reappeared, each on their knees on the forest floor. "You may join them now."

Luna stood and quickly moved to Ginny. Hermione went to Harry and Neville moved to Daphne. "Thank you, Kai," Luna said. She cradled Ginny to her as she quietly sniffled.

Nimue smiled. "Such a lovely child."

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

"Gah," Remus gagged. Wolfsbane had never tasted well; it was thick and goopy and to be perfectly honest looked like a glass full of bogies. It was disgusting. That's all there was to it. But getting it down in his present condition, well he was pretty sure he'd done harder things. He just couldn't recall when. He collapsed back on the bed where he clenched his jaw tightly and breathed deliberately through his nose. Throwing up would simply mean having to drink another dose.

Lily took his hand. "Alright?"

"I'll live," he gasped.

He caught her watching him. "You better," she said.

He slowly smiled. "Didn't I tell you, I've been spending time with Professor Trewlaney. She thinks I might have the Sight." Lily giggled, but it rather quickly turned into a sob. He reached for her chin. "Hey now, none of that."

She caught his hand and kissed it. "Why did you do it, Remus?"

"Do what?"

"Why did you stay with me, and then Harry? Why did you give up your chance at a life of your own to take care of us?"

Remus rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand. "I'm a werewolf, Lils," he said softly. "Playing father to Harry was as close as I was ever going to come."

"And a wife?" she asked. "Didn't you want that?"

"It was never going to happen, Lils."

"Why?" she protested. "Being a werewolf is no reason you couldn't find someone."

Remus shook his head. "Even if I could find someone who could look past the curse, I can't, Lils. The danger I put you, Harry… Hermione, everyone in is almost more than I can live with. Allowing myself a wife, you can't imagine how powerful the instinct of the wolf can be. The possibility of fathering a child, I just can't take that chance. If I were to pass this curse on to a child… I just can't. I made the decision to be celibate when we were still in school. When everything happened, I thought maybe when you were better I'd move on. But then you were better and Harry was with us and you still needed me and a few months turned into a year and a year turned into two and I realized I was content. The baser instincts of the wolf had faded. I don't know if its because I'm thirty-four, if its years of Wolfsbane suppressing the beast or something else I'm not even aware of, but I woke up one day and realized my life was fuller than I ever dared dream. If this is it, I'm good, Lils. I really am."

Lily kissed his hand again. "This isn't it, Remus. I'm honored and humbled and grateful beyond words for you, but this _is not it_. So don't you think that it is; not even for one second."

A knock on the door preceded it opening. Sirius poked his head in. "Kiddies are here. You want them one at a time or all together?"

"Send them all in," Remus said.

About an hour later everyone but Harry, Lily and Sirius had left the room. "Please, Remus," Harry asked.

"Harry," he said, "I know you want to be here, but if this doesn't work—"

"Don't say that," Harry snapped.

"If this doesn't work," Remus reiterated. Harry glowered at him. "It will be ugly, Harry… I don't want you to see that." Harry pressed his lips together angrily. "Harry, please."

"Fine," Harry snapped. He turned on his heel and made for the door.

Mum caught his arm. "Remus has never once asked you for anything. Are you really going to walk out of here like this?"

Harry turned around. "Why does Sirius get to stay?"

"Harry—"

"You're sending me away because you don't want me to see you die," Harry cut him off. "You're the only father I've ever known, Remus. If you're going to die, my place is at your side."

"Lily," Remus said, "help me out here."

She shook her head. "I'll go if you want, Remus. But this is between you and Harry."

Remus stared at her before turning to Sirius. He held his hands up. "Don't look at me. You raised him."

"Would you go if it was your father?" Harry demanded.

Remus tipped his head back, blinking a number of times. "Damn kid," he muttered. "Transform and go sit in the corner."

"Really?"

"I said, yes, didn't I? Now hurry up and transform before I change my mind."

Mum leaned in and kissed his cheek. "I'm proud of you, Harry," she whispered. Harry hugged her, changed to his wolf and went to sit in the corner. Mum stepped next to the bed. "I'll see you soon," she said and kissed Remus' cheek.

"You too, Lils."

She turned to Sirius. "We'll be waiting."

"I'll take care of them, Lils."

She stretched up and kissed his cheek. "I know." She left quickly and it was just the three of them.

Sirius glanced at his watch. "Ten minutes."

"I know."

"How you feeling?"

Remus glanced at Harry. He growled, warningly. "Not good," Remus sighed.

"Anything I can do?"

"Stop the moon rising?"

"I wish I could."

"How about getting me out of this bed, then?"

"What for?"

"I don't really fancy falling out of it when I change."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Right, sorry." He moved to the bed. "Come on."

"Just levitate me," Remus said.

"That bad?"

"That bad," Remus confirmed.

"Alright, here we go."

"Ahhh," Remus gasped.

"Sorry, sorry," Sirius apologized. He grabbed the blankets from the bed and tossed them on the floor. Harry quickly transformed, spread them out and transformed back. "Thanks, Pup." Sirius gently lowered Remus to the floor.

"Ahhh." Remus lay flat on his back, panting.

Harry transformed again. "Maybe a Cushioning Charm on the floor."

"Good idea," Sirius agreed. He quickly started casting charms and Harry transformed again.

"Oh, god," Remus gasped.

* * *

Lily purposely stayed with the healers in the hallway outside Remus' room till the last minute before moonrise before heading for the waiting room that had been set up.

"Where's Harry?" Hermione asked.

"He's staying," she answered.

"What? Why? If he's staying, I want to too." She tried to stand.

Luna caught her hand and pulled her back. "It's too late, Hermione."

Lily sat down and pulled Hermione into her arms. "Some things are between fathers and their sons, Love," she whispered.

* * *

Remus had never once allowed Harry to be present when he'd transformed. One of the few times he'd ever really been angry with him had been when Simper had caught Harry trying to hide in the barn the night of the full moon. Harry had been grounded from flying for two months because of it.

The saying, 'Be careful what you wish for, you may get it.' Harry vowed he would never forget it again. The transformation of man to werewolf was nothing like that of the animagus. Remus body had curled into the fetal position before arching and bowing so far Harry thought his spine would snap. And his scream, Harry's ears felt like they had been stripped raw.

It was horrific. But he forced himself to watch every second of it. If Remus could survive this every month without going mad, he could watch the few short minutes the transformation took. He was so determined to not look away he didn't really realize when the transformation was complete.

Sirius, in his animagus, padded cautiously towards Remus. He nudged the great grey wolf with his nose but got no response. He nudged him a bit harder. Remus' head lolled to the side and he whimpered softly. Harry edged forward. Sirius transformed. "Remus? Are you alright?" Remus whimpered. Harry edged closer and nuzzled Remus. Seeming to take every ounce of strength left in his body Remus thumped his tail. Son of a bitch," Sirius breathed. He focused on Harry. "I think we did it."

Harry thumped his tail and settled beside Remus, resting his head on his back protectively. Remus whimpered and Harry moved to just lying beside him. Sirius stood. "I'm going to go tell the others." Harry thumped his tail again. "I'll be right back."

Sirius walked into the waiting area and went straight to Ginny. Slightly alarmed she stood as he approached. "What?" she asked.

He grabbed the sides of her face. "Thank you." He kissed her crown and pulled her tight. "Thank you for saving my best friend."

"He's alive?" Lily whispered.

"He's alive," Sirius said.

Lily sank to her knees. "Easy now," Malala said, pulling her into her arms. "Easy," she soothed as Lily cried her relief away.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Albus Dumbledore stood at the window in his office watching a particular group of students as they made their way down the steps to the waiting carriages. Things had spiraled further out of his control than he ever could have imagined.

Two separate attacks by followers of Voldemort and Harry was once again at the center of them… Two separate attacks, yet neither having anything to do with Peter Pettigrew. The significance was not lost on him. The parallels between Voldemort and Harry were self-evident. A good portion of the school still despised Harry, but a growing body now followed his lead. At the same time, even from the nether world, Voldemort's power and reach grew with Harry's. Followers were beginning to mass for both.

Thankfully, Harry seemed firmly grounded in the Light, but there was a callous harshness about him that was concerning. The boy had killed two wizards and seemed completely unaffected by having done so. Even Alastor, no matter how justified, showed more remorse. Could a soul that close to the edge resist what seemed an inevitable fall as more time, destruction and death built around his feet? If Harry fell would he join Voldemort… or would he replace him? No, Harry couldn't replace Voldemort because of the soul fragment. As long as Harry lived Voldemort would remain immortal.

He'd contemplated just killing Harry himself many times. The stain on his soul would be assuaged by the greater good of saving tens upon thousands if not millions of lives. But it was no good. The prophecy clearly said one must destroy the other. For a very long time Dumbledore had thought Voldemort's hand could be by direction to one of his followers or even one of his followers killing Harry in Voldemort's name, but the last three years seemed to indicate it would need to be Voldemort himself who killed Harry. And it seemed it would not be as he currently was, but a fully resurrected Voldemort who would do so. For all his efforts, _Magic_ was dictating its own end.

Tom would rise and his followers would flock to him. His very survival would convince them of the righteousness of their cause. Harry was no less charismatic. Yes much of the student body remained holdouts, but three years on from being a complete pariah he had done more to unite members of the four houses than anyone of the last fifty years. Would they continue to stand behind him? Would they still stand with him when Voldemort rose from the dead, or would the evidence of immortality see Harry abandoned in droves? Would it matter in the aftermath?

What to do in this reality he had sought to avoid? The loss of Severus was devastating. Cornelius removed from office. Amelia looking very much like the title of Interim Minister was just that. He had severely underestimated her. The ease with which she navigated the press and the public was quite astonishing. Harry and his inner circle, what was going on there? He had spent the year trying to insert Remus into that circle only to now strongly suspect the man had been there all along. Remus had claimed, despite the private tutoring given to Harry and his friends, that the boy remained aloof to him. Two weeks of leaving school every night to visit an unconscious man in hospital did not speak of an aloof relationship. No, not only was Remus part of the inner circle, Albus strongly suspected the man had been placed at the school to try and gain information on him.

What did Sirius know? What did Harry know? It was subtle, but it was becoming very clear Harry, and his closest friends, were being trained for battle. Even Daphne and Neville, the latest comers and far less gifted than the others, were vastly different than their peers. Someone who understood Magic on a different level was instructing them, and their learning curve was far different for it. Albus very much doubted, even with months of private tutoring, a single seventh-year-to-be could produce a fully formed patronus. Most would struggle just to produce a mist. Yet Hermione, Luna and Ginevra had successfully performed the charm, Hermione and Luna were doing so whenever asked. Ginevra had only done so once, but whatever her block was, once she worked past it, she would be able to again. The levels of mist Harry, Neville and Daphne were producing, it sounded as if they could succeed at the charm at any moment. But who was this teacher?

Signs pointed to Lily Potter. But he was no closer to ascertaining she was alive than he had been a year ago. He strongly suspected she was. Surprisingly, his strongest evidence had been buried in his own memories. Harry's first quidditch match during his first year had seen a large group accompany Sirius to see him play. One person within that group remained unidentified. They never once dropped the hood of their cloak, but there were definite moments where Harry and whomever it was focused solely on the other. And when Harry's broom had been jinxed, it had taken Sirius, Remus, Andromeda and Hermione's mother to hold the unidentified person back and talk sense into them. Whoever it was, their connection with Harry was strong indeed.

He had come to the cautious conclusion Lily Potter was alive. The conclusion supported the evidence of a truly gifted sorcerer guiding Harry and his friends' magical training. Lily Potter had been that rarely gifted sorcerer; power, intelligence and curiosity. The question remained how; how and why? If she were alive, how? If she were alive, why had she allowed Harry to be placed with his aunt for six, nearly seven, years? If she were alive, why remain dead?

Albus sighed. What to do about all of it?

And he needed a new Defense professor.

And there was this blasted tournament to deal with. If Cornelius was going to get himself sacked he could have at least done him the courtesy of doing so before setting this in motion.

* * *

Harry settled with his back to the wall and his leg up on the bench. "There are six of us you know," Hermione reprimanded.

Harry shifted to the floor so he could remain stretched out. "Sorry.

Neville flopped down next to him while the four girls took seats on the benches. "Man am I glad to be going home," he said.

"You're telling me," Harry muttered. "Another day in that school and I swear I'd have killed Harper."

"Let's just hope he stays away from us today," Luna said.

"Oh, he'll be staying away," Neville said.

Harry quirked an eye. "Do tell, Nev," Luna gushed.

"Well, you didn't hear it from me, but he may have eaten some bad chicken at the feast last night."

Harry held his hand out to his friend. "Nice."

Neville fist bumped him. "No problem, Mate."

"I just don't understand this school," Hermione said. "Nearly everyone thought Remus was brilliant till they found out he was a werewolf."

"They're sheep," Daphne sniffed disdainfully. "Small minded and unable to think for themselves."

"Well, Hufflepuff has been nice," Ginny countered.

"True," Daphne agreed. "I sometimes wonder if they may not be the bravest House in the school."

"Who would have thought?" Hermione said.

"So other than quidditch camp for these two, any plans for the summer?" Neville asked.

"Daddy and I are going on a short trip to Albania while Harry and Ginevra are at camp," Luna said. "But I'll be back when they are."

"I think we should all go on holiday again," Hermione said.

Harry perked up at that. "I'll bet we could talk our way to Zakynthos again, easy."

"That would be brilliant," Neville said. "I'm sure Gran would let me go."

"What would be brilliant is just staying there the whole summer," Harry said. "I'd even give up going to camp for that."

"You're crazy," Ginny said. "There is no way I'm not going to camp."

"You've quidditch on the brain, Weasley."

"I'm tired of being the second best Slasher in the school. Cedric is going down next year."

"Please," Harry retorted, "at best you're third. I can out fly you on a cracked cauldron."

"In your dreams, Potter."

"Seek tomorrow?"

"You're on."

Harry grinned. "Bril." She grinned back. He closed his eyes and settled in for the long ride back to London. At any moment the fact Astoria was dead could still hit him like a ton of bricks. Daphne, also, was far from whole. But ever since Nimue had granted he, Ginny and Daphne those brief moments at closure, life wasn't so dark. Remus was alive and recovering. He could look at Ginny again. And they had ten weeks without the trial that was Hogwarts to look forward to. He'd only just started to drift off when there was a knock at their door.

"It's your brothers," Hermione said.

"Let them in," Ginny said.

Harry inhaled deeply. He still didn't get Luna's assertion that Fred smelt of baboon. But if he concentrated as hard as he could his wolf sense was able to detect just the slightest difference between them. Fred had the barest hint of curry about him. "On my left?" he asked.

Luna clapped. "Oh, very good, Harry."

"On the left what?" Fred asked.

Harry cracked an eye open. "Smell of baboon." Hey, just cause Fred didn't actually smell of baboon didn't mean Harry was going to tell him that. Fred glowered at him. Harry held his hands up. "Just the messenger, Mate."

"Yeah, well, the messenger's lucky he's still in my good graces for getting rid of Snape."

"The baboon should be glad I can pick him out because he was about two days removed from being in permanent need of a bra."

"A bra?" Lee asked.

"Figured the _need_ for one was as good a way as any of being able to tell them apart."

George exchanged a look with Lee. "Kind of wish he'd gone through with it."

"Oi!" Fred complained.

"I wasn't picky about which of you got it," Harry said.

"Sorry?" George asked.

"Well, the point of doing it was I couldn't tell you apart. Means it was fifty/fifty on who would have got it." He smirked. "Or rather them."

George cocked his head. After a second he shrugged. "You know, having your own to play with might not be all that bad."

"EWW," Hermione cried.

"George Fabian Weasley!" Ginny shrieked.

"Neanderthals," Daphne muttered. "Every last one of them."

"I can hardly fault him for the logic," Luna mused.

"STOP!" Ginny, Hermione and Daphne cried.

Neville snorted. "Wa'zat?" he blurted, sitting up.

Harry laughed. "Nothing, Mate, go back to sleep."

Neville blinked a number of times before seeming to come back to himself. He eyed the twins before turning to Harry. "Which Tweedle is which?"

"Dum is on your left," Harry said.

Neville's eyes jumped back and forth between the twins. Eventually he shook his head. "Can we just go through with the whole…" he paused, blushing. The plan sounded so much better when it was just he and Harry talking and his four other best friends weren't around. "Well, with what we were going to go through with?"

"Is there something you wanted?" Ginny interrupted.

"Keeping an eye?" Fred asked.

"Keeping an eye," George confirmed.

"We just wanted to see if you were going to be around at all this summer?" Fred asked.

"Just, you know, we kind of like you, Gin-Gin," George said.

"At the very least we'd like to see you for your birthday," Fred said.

Ginny stood and hugged them. "I'd like that too." The twins stuck around a while longer, but headed off when the trolley lady stopped by. Harry bought pasties and chocolate frogs for all of them and they quietly conversed while they ate. Once finished, Daphne curled up on the seat with her head in Ginny's lap. She reached for Harry's hand and fell asleep with Ginny gently stroking her fingers through her blonde locks. Luna pulled a copy of the Quibbler from her bag and Hermione scooted close while they worked through the crossword.

"Plant that will allow a person to breath underwater?" Luna asked.

"Gillyweed," Neville said. He got up and sat on Luna's other side. "It's supposed to make you grow gills in your neck and makes your hands and feet webbed so you can swim better. I actually saw some growing in the tide pools when we were in Zakynthos."

"You saw something that would let us breath underwater and didn't say something," Harry demanded.

"Well, it could have been Suffocation Slime; which would cause your lungs to fill with saltwater and has a ninety percent fatality rate when ingested. They both look like slimy rat tails, with the only difference being gillyweed is grayish green in colour while suffocation slime is grayish green with very faint black lines on it."

"Right," Harry said. "Good call."

"I brought some back and showed it to Sprout. If we go back we can definitely try it out."

"Wicked," Harry said.

"You're going to eat something that's described as slimy, greyish green rat tails," Hermione asked. "Why not just use SCUBA equipment.

"Because, gills, duh," Harry said.

"What's scuba equipment?" Ginny asked.

"It's what non-magical people use to allow them to breath underwater," Hermione said. "I'll show you on the telly when we get to the Briar Patch."

"Muggles can breath underwater?" Ginny asked.

"Yes and no," Hermione said. "SCUBA stands for Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus. It's basically a tank filled with air that you wear on your back. There's a hose that runs from the tank to a mouthpiece. You breathe the air from the tank. It allows you to stay underwater for short periods of time; usually not more than about an hour."

"Have you done it?"

"Yes. My parents took me diving on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. It was amazing."

Ginny tipped her head. "I want to try it."

"I say we do both," Harry said.

"Go right ahead," Ginny said. "I, however, am not eating slimy rat tails."

"I'm with, Ginny," Neville agreed. "Scuba sounds way better than slimy rat tails."

"Me three," Hermione said.

"I'm afraid you're on your own on this one, Harry," Luna said.

Harry glanced at Daphne but she was out cold. "Please," Ginny said. "You can't possibly think, she'll agree with you."

Harry chuckled. "Slim and none," he agreed.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Kingsley Shacklebolt rolled the body over. "Shite," he muttered.

Tonks stared down at the man Harry and Bill had captured from the attack at the stadium. They'd released him with a Tracking Charm to go with the few dozen Memory Charms placed on him. As expected he'd gone to ground; not leaving his hidey-hole for near three weeks. When he'd finally emerged it had been to go to Knockturn Alley. It had only taken an hour for him to end up dead on doing so… Someone was taking no chances.

* * *

 **HPHPHP**

* * *

Author's notes:

So ends year 3, and all you readers deserve an update. I'm currently 98% complete with year 4. However, I'm tired. Churning out 4 books in a year will do that to you. I will finish, it will just take time. As my writing is not keeping ahead of my posting, it is kind of unfair of me to keep to a two weeks between chapters schedule. Therefore, after a trip to Hawaii, I'm leaving tomorrow, I will begin posting year 4 begining June 30th. I will post a chapter a week and if I run out of material, I run out and we'll all just have to wait.

As always, thank you to all my readers and a special thank you to those who have reviewed for me.

See ya on the flip side.

Sorcerer's Muse


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